ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Former Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo told ESPN on Monday that he was sitting alone in his locker after the Midshipmen’s 20-17 double loss to rival Army in Philadelphia on Saturday when the athletic director Navy sports officer Chet Gladchuk stepped in and fired him.
Niumatalolo said: “First of all, we just got kicked in the stomach. “I was a bit numb before he said that, so most of the time I couldn’t understand. I just thought, ‘Chet, why don’t you take a moment to relax.’ He said, ‘Well, it’s under construction.'”
The two shared very different views about the change of coach at a show that didn’t attempt to make it to the College Football knockout round but annually captures the nation’s attention with its glitz and glamor. and the tradition of the Army-Navy game. Niumatalolo, the most winning coach in program history with a score of 109-83, has earned a reputation for graduating his players, his honest approach and avoiding NCAA violations, and while Gladchuk praising him for the lasting impact he’s had on the Midshipmen, he says the goals are yielding Commander-in-Chief Title victories and earning bowls.
“It is a constant goal that we strive to achieve two goals that I believe are very realistic, very reasonable and have been consistent for 20 years and therefore this is not surprising,” said Gladchuk. “. “It was just an unfortunate expectation that fell short.”
Gladchuk said there was “no doubt” expectations were communicated to Niumatalolo before the season.
“I spoke directly to his agent, who asked me exactly that question,” Gladchuk said. “I’ve communicated it to them and I’ve been communicating it for 20 years to the head coach… there’s no confusion about what the expectations are. And I think they’re realistic, reasonable, and valid. They’re achievable. They’re ‘expected. They have the resources. I couldn’t have made it any clearer.”
The Midshipmen ended the season with four or fewer wins in three straight years and a 2-5 in the last seven games against the Army and 2-5 against the Air Force in the same span. While the three service academies – Army, Navy and Air Force – face similar challenges, Niumatalolo said even a handful of his players are unlikely to receive an extra year of qualification. Events – especially given the end-of-season injury and COVID-19 devastation of the 2020 season – make it particularly difficult.
“The other two get it,” he said. “All the others got an extra year thanks to COVID, I’m not complaining — everyone deserves it. Why don’t we give that chance? Especially if the other two can. do some things that way. We’re in a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic.”
Niumatalolo said the Navy doesn’t wear red, so he lets freshmen and sophomores go head to head with players from other academies with a qualifying sixth as of 2020. He said he asked Gladchuk and the director of the Navy if any players could be granted an additional year of eligibility, but was denied because the government required Midshipmen to graduate in four years.
“We have to make this a level playing field,” he said. “If we had what they had, if I could stretch a few people a year… we were sharing our indoor facility with gymnastics. Is anyone else in the country sharing? their indoor facilities with gymnastics? There was a time when we were out there in the freezing rain. I wonder, where else is anyone else practicing like this?”
Niumatalolo also said other academies have completed classes by noon, which is a significant advantage as the football program can feed players twice and have meetings. He said Navy classes end at 3:20 p.m. and the players are sprinting to practice. He asked to change the schedule, but was told that could not happen either. Gladchuk said a lot of Navy guidance comes from the Secretary of the Navy and admits Midshipmen “have to deal with variables that in many cases are not the same.”
“We have to accept that,” he said. “We’ve got to get rid of distractions and play by the rules we’ve set and succeed in doing that. Air Force, what’s 9-3? They’re playing by the same rules. “
With an experienced team of 22 starting back to compete with an American Games very different from the pending departures of Cincinnati, Houston and UCF to the Big 12, Niumatalolo said he has request the end of the remaining year of his contract.
“And if we lose money next year,” he said, “Don’t worry about firing me. I’ll resign. You don’t have to pay me a dime. I don’t want a raise, I’m not working. looking for anything I just want to fulfill my contract We are finally out of the pandemic I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed I think we represent a something different.”
Gladchuk said the experience of returning and reorganizing the conference are both “part of the thought process,” but it’s more than that.
“It’s not a clumsy match, or even a loss on Saturday,” Gladchuk said. “These goals and expectations have been in place for many years. … I think about our corporate relationships. I think about our appearances on television. I think about our responsibilities. us to the conference, our alumni.”
Niumatalolo said he was not bitter, but he felt he had to defend himself and explain his achievements in recent years in front of the academies.
“I’m a competitor,” he said. “It was hard for me to think we had the ball at the six-inch line, and that was my last game. It was confusing. If we won, he wouldn’t fire me. How do you Fire a person after you win the Army -Navy Game? That won’t happen.”
