Former Navy Coach Ken Niumatalolo Joins Staff at UCLA Football

Chip Kelly is adding an experienced veteran to his ranks as the Bruins' director of leadership, a new advisory position.

One of the most accomplished head coaches in the country is joining the Bruins.

UCLA football announced it had hired former Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo on Friday, bringing him in as the program's director of leadership. Niumatalolo will be serving as an advisor to both student-athletes and coaches.

Niumatalolo was the head coach at Navy from 2008 to 2022, leading the Midshipmen to 11 bowl appearances in his first 13 seasons. Niumatalolo is Navy's all-time wins leader at 109-83, setting the single-season record for wins in both 2015 and 2019.

Under Niumatalolo's leadership, Navy produced 11 All-Americans and three NFL Draft picks.

After a third-straight losing season in 2022, though, Niumatalolo was let go by the top service academy. Niumatalolo said he was fired in the locker room following Navy's double-overtime loss to Army on Dec. 10.

Niumatalolo became the first Navy coach ever to lead the team to eight consecutive wins over Army earlier in his tenure, but things didn't go quite as smoothly in his later years with the Midshipmen. Niumatalolo went 2-5 against the Black Knights between 2016 and 2022, all while failing to exceed four wins in four of the last five seasons.

Still, the 57-year-old Niumatalolo built up a respectable national reputation during his time in Annapolis, where he won AAC Coach of the Year three times.

Niumatalolo got his start as a graduate assistant at Hawaii, where he had previously played quarterback. He first arrived at Navy in 1995, spending two seasons as running backs coach before becoming quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator in 1997.

Following a three-year stint as tight ends coach and special teams coordinator at UNLV, Niumatalolo returned to Navy in 2002. He was the team's associate head coach and offensive line coach until 2007, when he ascended to the head coaching position.

While Niumatalolo won't have to work with Xs and Os in Westwood, he does appear to be a strong cultural fit for Chip Kelly's program. Kelly has a history of bringing in experienced, respected coaches to fill in the Bruins' upstairs positions, and Niumatalolo is just the latest to fit that bill.

Former USC defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast and former USC offensive line coach Tim Drevno were both brought on as analysts in 2021, with Drevno taking over as the Bruins' offensive line coach when Justin Frye left for Ohio State in 2022. UCLA moved Bill McGovern from defensive coordinator to Director of Football Administration in February after the former Boston College, Pittsburgh and New York Giants coach dealt with health issues in the 2022 campaign.

Niumatalolo won't even be the only former Midshipman on staff, either.

Kelly hired Brian Norwood as his defensive backs coach in 2020, right after Norwood completed his lone season as Navy's co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach. Norwood and Niumatalolo also coached together at Navy from 1995 to 1998.

UCLA football chief of staff Bryce McDonald was a fullback at Navy from 1999 to 2003, and he served as a Marine Corps captain until suffering a serious leg injury in 2006. Niumatalolo reached out to McDonald and hired him to Navy football's operations department in 2008, which set him up to take a job with the Bruins in 2019.

Niumatalolo’s son, Ali’i, is also a graduate assistant at UCLA.

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