Chip Kelly says hiring Ken Niumatalolo at UCLA was 'awesome'

The UCLA football program made a major move this offseason in hiring Ken Niumatalolo as its new director of leadership, an advisory position that will help round out the program’s holistic approach to player development.

Bruins coach Chip Kelly was thrilled to nab Niumatalolo, who has spent 25 years in various coaching positions at Navy.

“Yeah, it was awesome that we got a chance to get Ken,” Kelly said. “I know he had a lot of opportunities to go a lot of places. He’s such a well-respected coach in our community. I think everybody kind of looks up to Ken in terms of what the success he’s had and just the type of person that he is.”

The UCLA program appears to be on the upswing after a tough start to the Chip Kelly era. The Bruins won eight games in 2021, then nine last fall in 2022.

Niumatalolo’s task? Provide leadership advice to anyone who may need it.

“When he did become available we had some discussions in terms of just trying to get him on staff,” Kelly said. “We developed a position for him. I think leadership, you’re talking about somebody who’s probably the foremost person who can teach leadership coming from the Naval Academy, so going to implement some new things.”

Kelly’s program has frequently pioneered new tactics when it comes to player development, so the hiring of a director of leadership shouldn’t come as a huge surprise.

The UCLA head coach broke down what he envisions the position encompassing after hiring Ken Niumatalolo. He gave a pretty complete breakdown.

“I think leadership goes across a lot of different things, and what a freshman has to do to lead is a lot different than what a senior has to do to lead,” Kelly said. “And really to break it down and have a person that can foster that mentality with our players and then meet with them one-on-one.

“The more people we can have on deck that can promote what this place is all about, which is books and ball, and you talk about a guy coming from Navy, that’s a place that’s about books and ball. We’re just really fortunate to have somebody of Ken’s character and just the type of person he is. The more good people around, the better off you’re going to be, so we were excited to add him to our staff.”