Newly Appointed Navy Head Coach, Former Rainbows Quarterback, Ken Niumatalolo announced on Leahey & Leahey Live on Monday that he was planning to promote Quarterbacks Coach, and fellow former Hawaii Signal Caller Ivin Jasper to Offensive Coordinator. Well, it became OFFICIAL today...
BALTIMORE (Examiner) - Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo acted swiftly this week to return a sense of continuity to the football program in the days after Paul Johnson resigned to take over as head coach at Georgia Tech.
He made his first mark by promoting Ivin Jasper to offensive coordinator from quarterbacks coach, as Jasper will call plays in the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego on Dec. 20. The move by Niumatalolo, who also retained defensive coordinator Buddy Green, is in stark contrast to Johnson’s days, as Johnson was one of few head coaches in the country who doubled as offensive coordinator.
But Niumatalolo is confident in Jasper’s knowledge of the triple-option offense. Jasper was a college quarterback under Johnson when he was offensive coordinator at the University of Hawaii. Jasper has spent 11 years as an assistant under Johnson, including from 1999-01 at Georgia Southern.
“As a quarterbacks coach you’re already looking at the offense, you’re just not calling the plays,” Niumatalolo said. “You’re looking at the overall schematics of the game plan and you’re looking at the schematics of what the defense is doing, so from his perspective he’s making a smooth transition.”
Green said he is excited about returning to Navy next season to help with the development of the younger players, who have struggled for most of the season. Navy (8-4) has allowed 36.5 points per game this season, but has played much better in recent weeks, including during a 38-3 victory over Army on Dec. 1.
“We’ve had a lot of growing pains,” Green said. “But through the willingness and the determination to get better they were able to finish on a good note and that gives us something to build on.”
Despite all the changes in the past week in Annapolis, Niumatalolo has tried to adhere to the same bowl preparation routine the team has followed in each of the previous four seasons it has played in a postseason game. Fortunately for the Midshipmen, they know how to prepare for the Poinsettia Bowl after playing in the game in 2005, when it defeated Colorado State, 51-30.
“We tried to keep things in place to make sure too many things don’t change,” Niumatalolo said. “We try to keep the continuity going so there is some familiarity with what we’re doing. So far, so good.”
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