PROVO — If reports are true, Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo is being seriously considered as BYU's next head coach.

Here is the case for why the Cougars should choose the head coach at one of the nation's service academies.

Niumatalolo is a proven winner

Since taking over at Navy at the end of the 2007 season, Niumatalolo has only had one losing season. In his other seven campaigns, Niumatalolo has led the Midshipmen to one 10-win season (with a strong possibility he will hit that mark again this season), three nine-win seasons and three eight-win seasons.

Niumatalolo has a stellar 66-37 record. That is no small feat given the limitations he has had to work with in terms of personnel. Niumatalolo is Navy's all-time winningest coach in terms of winning percentage. He's also coming off his best season as the Midshipmen are 9-2 and ranked in the top 25. It's safe to say that out of all the candidates BYU is considering, Niumatalolo is the most proven as head of a program.

Niumatalolo is very public about his LDS faith

The head coach of BYU's football team is one of the most public and recognizable Latter-day Saints in America. With that recognition, fair or not, comes a lot of responsibility. The head coach of the Cougars not only represents himself and his team — he represents the LDS Church. As such, the head honcho in Provo is part football coach and part spiritual leader.

Bronco Mendenhall took on this holistic approach with vigor. He began the tradition of having firesides the night before road games and spoke openly about how faith came first in the football program.

In this regard, Niumatalolo seems to be a very good hire. He has been open about his faith and his values and was prominently featured in the Church's promotional movie, "Meet the Mormons." The Cougars are looking for a spiritual man and Niumatalolo fits that bill.

Niumatalolo has won without premier athletes and with a strict code of conduct

As noted to earlier, it is not easy to win at Navy. There are strict height and weight regulations for Navy students and all of them face five years of active duty when they graduate. As you can imagine, recruiting is very different at Navy than at other schools. Niumatalolo has had to convince athletes to come with the expectation of active duty service, adherence to a strict code of conduct and meeting rigorous academic standards on top of being football players.

Despite these heavy requirements, Niumatalolo has been very successful. He is one of the few coaches in the country where the pool of recruits he can pull from to attend BYU will have more athletes in it than the one with which he is currently working.

Niumatalolo beats his rivals

If there was one major knock on Mendenhall, it was that he struggled against rivals. While he gets one last chance against the Utes in the Las Vegas Bowl, he is just 3-6 against the Cougs' primary rival. Mendenhall also struggled against TCU, going a measly 2-5 against the Horned Frogs during the duo's tenure as Mountain West foes. Granted, he was 8-2 vs Utah State, but many in Provo don't view that as a rivalry.

In contrast, Niumatalolo has dominated his primary rival. He is undefeated against the school's biggest rival Army. Some of that can be attributed to the Black Knight's mediocrity as a program in recent years, but it's still impressive. BYU fans would love nothing more than to see their team take it to the Utes like the LaVell Edwards-led teams of the 70s and 80s.

In my opinion, Niumatalolo would be a very solid hire for BYU. The only thing that gives Cougar fans in general pause is if Niumatalolo brought the triple option to Provo. That would be a waste of the terrific talent of Cougar quarterback Tanner Mangum.

Regardless, Niumatalolo appears to be among the frontrunners so don't be surprised if BYU announces him as its newest head coach.

Dylan Cannon is a regular KSL.com contributor and can be reached at DylanCannon86@gmail.com or via twitter @DylanCannon11.

Related topics