Navy has promoted defensive coordinator Brian Newberry to the full-time head football coach of the Midshipmen program, the service academy announced on Monday. Newberry replaces Ken Niumatalolo, who was dismissed after 15 seasons following the loss to Army earlier this month which wrapped up a disappointing 4-8 season in 2022.
"Coach Newberry is respected and was highly endorsed by many within the Navy football family," said athletic director Chet Gladchuk in a statement. "Brian is organized, innovative, intelligent, inspirational and brings an expectation of competitive toughness that has made Navy one of the top defensive units in the nation. The span of his experience at a number of institutions, coupled with four years in Annapolis has allowed him to create a vision for Navy football that is all encompassing and very logical as it pertains to the way ahead. Often there comes a time in the careers of highly-accomplished coaches in our profession when documented credibility aligns with logical leadership opportunity and Coach Newberry's time is now."
Newberry will provide stability for the Midshipmen after a successful four-year stint under Niumatalolo. They finished in the top three in the AAC in total defense for each of his four years on staff, and did so while the offense evolved from a true triple-option attack into a more modern triple-option out of the shotgun.
He was a semifinalist for the Broyles Award, which is given to the nation's top assistant coach, in 2019 when he turned around one of the worst defenses in the nation. The Midshipmen finished 20th in the nation in third-down defense (32.75%) after finishing 122nd the prior season (46.54%). They allowed just 22.3 points per game that season after allowing 33.5 in 2018.
"It is a great honor and privilege to lead this program," said Newberry. "It is a great responsibility that I fully accept and embrace. I could not be more excited and optimistic about the future of Navy football. The Naval Academy is a special place and we have great young men in our program. Our culture remains strong. I believe whole heartedly in the mission here and have seen firsthand the impact this institution has on the lives of the young men and women who graduate and serve. We will facilitate the values and the mission of the Naval Academy within our program. We will make the Navy football family and all associated with the Naval Academy proud, both on and off the field! Go Navy! Beat everyone!"
Newberry was the defensive coordinator at Kennesaw State from 2015-18, where he helped build a program that began playing football in 2015 into a back-to-back playoff team with two FCS top-10 finishes in 2017-18.
Navy has gone 10-13 over the last three years and finished no higher than sixth in the the AAC. The Midshipmen have lost five of their last seven games against Army after winning the previous 14 games against the Black Knights.
