If anyone wondered whether a 3-9 season dulled Ken Niumatalolo’s edge heading into year three at San Jose State, the answer came quick and unfiltered on Day 2 of Mountain West media day.
“Last year still pisses me off,” said Niumatalolo. “And from the end of last year on, my mind hasn’t stopped thinking, ‘How are we gonna get better?’”
That’s the state of the union for Sparta right now. Not spin. Not platitudes. Just a 37-year coaching veteran openly wearing a losing season like a burr under the saddle
and methodically retooling everything around it.
The fall from a 7-6 debut and a Hawaii Bowl trip in 2024 to last year’s 2-6 conference slog was jarring for a fan base that finally believed the program had stabilized. Niumatalolo felt it more than anyone and it followed him all the way home to Laie.
A football brain that never shuts off
Even on his annual summer trip back to Oahu, the wheels keep turning.
“I have six grand kids, so while grand kids are on my mind, I’m thinking, okay, we gotta change our tackling drills and so on,” said Niumatalolo. “I’m always watching videos of other teams, of different coaches, different programs and sometimes shark videos come on in between. Basically I can’t shut my mind down football-wise.”
Then came the line that should settle any question about his fire at this stage of his career.
“If a season like last year doesn’t hurt you, I’m getting out.”
Niumatalolo also made clear the urgency isn’t manufactured from the administration. “None of my desire to win has anything to do from anyone. I’m the most competitive person you’ll meet.”
The hardest part of the job
That competitiveness forced the offseason’s most painful work. Niumatalolo let three assistants go, men he called close friends, and he didn’t sugarcoat the cost.
“Probably the hardest part of a head coach is letting people go,” said Niumatalolo. “But I feel like the guys that we brought in, I think we knocked it out of the park.”
The new staff brings a toughness he wanted on the offensive line with Ramsen Golpashin, plus Brian Norwood, who he flatly labeled “the best secondary coach in the country” along with former Weber State defensive coordinator Joe Dale.
The biggest promotion belongs to Bojay Filimoeatu, elevated to defensive coordinator after his interim audition late last season. Niumatalolo’s endorsement went beyond scheme.
“He’s not a tyrant as a leader. He’s not trying to be some dictator,” said Niumatalolo on Filimoeato’s known intensity. “Not only our players, but our coaches are following him because of the way he’s leading.”
And in classic San Jose State fashion, leadership also showed up in the form of a spatula.
With no big budget for team events, the coaches themselves cooked at offseason barbecues and Filimoeatu grilled In-N-Out style. “When players see that you’re actually cooking for them, those little things build relationships,” said Niumatalolo.
A chance to play, not a payday
With the quarterbacks, intrigue defines that 2026 room. Daniel Rolovich, the mid-year arrival and son of former Hawaii coach Nick Rolovich, Hawaii transfer Luke Weaver and Robbie McDaniel are locked in a race Niumatalolo called “close.”
“I’d like to make a starter decision early in camp so our team knows who it is, but we’re also not gonna force it,” said Niumatalolo.
Weaver’s recruitment also tells you everything about how this staff filters the portal. Niumatalolo watched Weaver come off the bench cold to throw a game-winning touchdown against Cal, then sat across from him and heard zero bitterness about his old program.
“Luke just talked about wanting a chance to play and that spoke volumes to me,” said Niumatalolo. “And, it wasn’t about money for him.”
The theme repeated with BYU speedster Dominique McKenzie, OL Vaka Hansen and Nebraska’s Brian Tapu. And there’s also a hard filter on the other side of it.
“If a kid’s first question is, how much are you guys paying in rev share, for us, you’re not the right kid. We’re not gonna get in bidding wars with people. We don’t have the money. We’re looking for a different type of kid and Luke and the others epitomize the type of kids that we got.”
The trophies that walk around Diamond Head
For all the fire about losing, the deepest moment came when Niumatalolo talked about what actually endures. Walking around Diamond Head this summer with his wife, Niumatalolo ran into a former Navy player.
“Yes, I wanna win games, I wanna win championships, but those are my greatest trophies,” Niumatololo said on the importance of faith and relatiohships that transcend everything. “To see who those guys become, fathers and husbands…”
It’s the throughline of his faith-anchored standard and it shapes how his staff is allowed to coach. Demanding, yes. Degrading, never.
“I don’t believe you have to say “MF” to somebody to make them do something right,” said Niumatalolo. “This is the litmus test I tell our guys. Coach somebody like how you want your son or daughter to be coached.”
That’s the paradox Sparta fans should embrace heading into fall camp. A coach genuinely angry about nine losses and genuinely at peace about what matters most.
If 2026 turns, it’ll turn on both.
