An Ode to Niumat

An Ode to Niumat

Ken Niumatalolo is the best head ball coach in the history of service academies.

Every article written should have started with the sentence above. It isn’t particularly close either. To compete on a national level for over a decade with the restrictions and limitations of a service academy in the 21st century does not, under any circumstance, deserve a firing. He deserves better. I hope this is one small way for him to get the respect he earned.

In high school I thought maybe I would have a shot to play for Coach Ken. It didn’t work out, but I got to know him in another way. Two or three times a week at lunch, Coach Ken played tennis on the courts behind our dorm. On my way to class, I sometimes walked by and talked to him about the previous or upcoming game. It was never serious, not like I figured out how to beat an opponent’s scheme or anything, just some fun moments usually trying to convince him to move DJ Sargenti to linebacker (a decision that worked out great). He never had to do that, and maybe he complained in private, but he always seemed excited to talk and I really appreciated it. 

Imagine if a student at UGA went up to Kirby Smart regularly in the middle of his workout to talk about football. Kirby seems like a great guy, no doubt about it, I just don’t see that happening. During my senior year, after we beat Army in Rugby for the first time in years, he stopped me at those courts to congratulate the victory. I had no idea he was there, but the head football coach taking the time to say something about that game was a really awesome moment, especially from a man I respected so much. 

All my friends who played for him, loved him. Outside of questionable timeout-management, he was a phenomenal coach who constantly competed with and often challenged some of the best teams in the country without the same resources or advantages. I have a lot of respect for Jeff Monken too, but Coach Ken is the epitome of service academy football. He did it right on the field, and still prioritized his players’ development heading into the Naval service. Between COVID, NIL, and the transfer portal, the cards continued to stack against him and Navy football, but even then he managed to beat a top-25 UCF, challenged another top-25 Cincy team, and was in almost every game they played this year. Just about every year, included this year, his Navy teams pushed Notre Dame to the limit. The record wasn’t pretty, hasn’t been for a few years, but I don’t think you fire the best coach a program ever had unless they commit a crime. Just ask Texas or Miami how it is working out for them.

There is no shortage of former players sending their best wishes and kind words, surely those mean more than this, but I hope Niumat knows the rugby player he talked to on the tennis courts couldn’t ask for a better football coach to look up to. Maybe one day I will take over his job, and make sure the statue of Ken is built where it belongs: right next to Roger Staubach’s Heisman trophy.