Different styles of option offense will challenge Navy, Tulane defensive coordinators

Navy defensive coordinator Dale Pehrson and Tulane counterpart Jack Curtis will be on the hot seat this afternoon when the teams meet in Annapolis.

Curtis and Pehrson are responsible for figuring out a way to stop the other’s option offense. Navy employs a triple-option system it is has perfected over the years while Tulane head coach Willie Fritz may be the nation’s foremost practitioner of the zone option.

Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo and offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper have been running this version of the triple-option since learning it from architect Paul Johnson as quarterbacks at the University of Hawaii. Niumatalolo and Jasper spent 13 and 11 years, respectively, as assistants…