Navy head coach ken Niumatalolo has enjoyed a fair amount of coaching continuity over the years when compared to his colleagues around college football, but every once in a while he finds himself with an opening on his staff.
On the Authentic Athletes podcast (at about the 20:30 mark), Niumatalolo was asked what the top trait he looks for when hiring an assistant coach.
"Everyone has their own style of coaching and their own way of doing things, but I look for character. I want people who are good people. That is first and foremost."
"I don't care how good you are as a coach, or how great of a recruiter you are, but if you're not a good person, those aren't the type of people you want around molding the players."
"I'd rather have a guy around that maybe isn't as good of a football coach, but is a really good person, because he can learn the skills."
Coach Niumatalolo goes on to use former Navy players who have turned to coaching as an example of guys that may have been light on the coaching experience, but as military men of high character with great leadership skills, they've turned into fantastic coaches.
That's a quality message for all coaches to hear from a successful coach at the major college level.
Hear more from coach Niumatalolo below.