Ken Niumatalolo Nearing Deal to Become San Jose State Coach, per Report

The former longtime Navy coach is set to land his second FBS head coaching job.

Former longtime Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo is nearing a deal to become the new head coach at San José State, according to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Niumatalolo, who parted ways with the Naval Academy in 2022, worked in an off-field role on Chip Kelly’s staff at UCLA last season. He will replace Brent Brennan, who left San José State to take the coaching job at Arizona.

Niumatalolo went 109–83 overall with 10 winning seasons at the Naval Academy, and beat Army in the school’s annual rivalry game a record 10 times. He was named AAC Coach of the Year three times and is the winningest coach in Navy football history. This will be his second head coaching job in the FBS.

Former Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo is reportedly on the precipice of landing the job with the Spartans :: James Guillory/USA Today network

Niumatalolo is known for his option offense, but sources told Thamel that he is not expected to run the offensive system with the Spartans. Instead, he is planning to target an offensive coordinator that runs a “wide-open and pass-heavy system.”