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One of the stars of the movie "Meet the Mormons" will get his chance to meet a whole lot of Mormons on Monday.
Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo, who has emerged as the leading candidate to replace Bronco Mendenhall as BYU's head football coach, will visit BYU on Monday, the Capital Gazette newspaper of Annapolis, Md., reported Thursday night.
According to Niumatalolo's longtime agent, Evan Beard, the coach has not been offered the job by BYU and will simply be on a fact-finding mission on Monday, two days after the Midshipmen take on Army in Philadelphia in their regular-season finale.
The Salt Lake Tribune reported Wednesday that BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe had yet to contact Navy AD Chet Gladchuk for permission to talk to Niumatalolo, but that has since happened, according to The Capital.
Niumatalolo's son, Va'a, is a sophomore linebacker at BYU.
"I've been contacted this season by numerous schools that had an interest in Kenny," Beard told the newspaper. "BYU is the one school that he thinks deserves serious consideration."
Niumatalolo is 66-37 in eight seasons at Navy, and guided the Mids to winning records in seven seasons. Navy is a 23-point favorite over Army on Saturday in Philadelphia. Navy will play in the Military Bowl on Dec. 28.
It is not known whether Niumatalolo will bring the triple-option offense with him if he takes the job at BYU, or if he even wants to.
BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum, a pocket passer with limited running ability, said Thursday morning he has not thought much about the new coach.
"Hardly any at all, to be honest," he said. "We are doing a really good job, as a team, of just staying focused on this game. And I think that starts with the seniors, the guys who have been here. Their excitement, their energy, is kind of contagious. There is a buzz in the locker room, because we are excited for this game. We are excited to play Utah in a bowl, excited to end the season strong.
"So we are not worried about what will happen as far as coaching is concerned. As for me, I am not worried. I trust the process. I trust that when that time comes, everything will take care of itself. For right now, I am just worried about the things I can control, and that's just my effort and my dedication to be prepared for the game."
Twitter: @drewjay