| Rick Neuheisel | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Title | Head coach | |
| College | UCLA | |
| Sport | Football | |
| Conference | Pac-10 | |
| Team record | 6–6 (3-6 Pac-10) | |
| Born | February 7, 1961 | |
| Place of birth | Madison, Wisconsin United States |
|
| Annual salary | $1,250,000[1] | |
| Career highlights | ||
| Overall | 76–44 | |
| Bowls | 4–3 | |
| Coaching stats | ||
| College Football DataWarehouse | ||
| Championships | ||
| 2000 Pac-10, 2001 Rose Bowl | ||
| Playing career | ||
| 1980-83 1984-85 1987 1987 |
UCLA San Antonio - USFL San Diego - NFL Tampa Bay - NFL*
|
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| Position | Quarterback | |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | ||
| 1986 1988–93 1994 1995–98 1999–2002 2003–04 2005–06 2007 2008–present |
UCLA - volunteer UCLA - ass't Colorado - ass't Colorado Washington Rainier B. HS - volunteer Baltimore Ravens - (QB) Baltimore Ravens - (OC) UCLA |
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Richard Gerald "Rick" Neuheisel, Jr. (pronounced /ˈnuːhaɪzəl/, German: [ˈnɔi̯haɪzl̩]; born February 7, 1961 in Madison, Wisconsin) is a football coach, currently the head coach of the UCLA Bruins college football team.[2]
Before the UCLA coaching job, he was the offensive coordinator for the NFL's Baltimore Ravens in 2007, after serving as quarterbacks coach for two seasons. He was previously the head coach of the Washington Huskies (1999-2002) and Colorado Buffaloes (1995-99).
He has been linked to several recruiting and other NCAA violations during his time at Colorado and Washington. He coached the Huskies to a victory in the 2001 Rose Bowl, but was fired from Washington in August 2003 for lying about betting on the NCAA Basketball Tournament in a bracket pool.
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Early years
Rick Neuheisel was born in Madison, Wisconsin, one of four children and the only son of Dick and Jane (Jackson) Neuheisel, with sisters Nancy, Katie, and Deborah. Dick was an attorney and Rick grew up in Tempe, Arizona, and graduated from McClintock High School in 1979. He lettered in three sports (football, basketball, baseball) and was named its outstanding athlete during his senior year.
Playing career
He played his college football at UCLA, beginning his career as a walk-on, holding placekicks for John Lee.
He was the starting quarterback in his senior year in the 1983 season. UCLA opened with a loss at Georgia, a tie with Arizona State and then a 42-10 loss at #1-ranked Nebraska. Neuheisel was benched after the Nebraska loss in favor of Steve Bono. On October 1st, the Bruins lost to BYU to start the season 0-3-1. Bono was injured during the Stanford game, and Neuheisel came back to finish the season.[3] Neuheisel led the Bruins to an eventual 6-4-1 record, culminating with a win over arch-rival USC that, combined with Washington State's upset of Washington, gave UCLA the Pac-10 championship in 1983 and sent them to the Rose Bowl on January 2, 1984.
Neuheisel led the Bruins to a 45–9 victory over 4th-ranked (& heavily-favored) Illinois in the 1984 Rose Bowl, in which he was named the MVP; two of his four touchdown passes were caught by a sophomore wide receiver from San Diego named Karl Dorrell, Neuheisel's immediate predecessor as the UCLA Head Football Coach.[4] The victory vaulted the Bruins, unranked through most of the season, into the top 25 in wire service polls. Much like his rise to stardom at UCLA, the road to the victory was a bumpy one. Neuheisel and two other players on the defensive side of the ball suffered from food poisoning hours before the Rose Bowl and it was unsure that Neuheisel would start. Neuheisel would end up starting the game. He also set an NCAA record that year for single game pass completion percentage (since broken) by completing 25 of 27 passes (92.6%) in a Pac-10 win over Washington.
He was named to the Pac-10 All-Academic team and graduated from UCLA in May 1984 with a B.A. in political science and a 3.4 GPA. Neuheisel still holds the UCLA single season record for completion percentage, completed 185 of 267 passes (69.3%) for 2,245 yards in the 1983 season. He was also a member of Sigma Nu fraternity while a student.
In 1998, Neuheisel was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame.
Professional football career
His professional career included two seasons with the San Antonio Gunslingers (1984-85) of the USFL and three games with the San Diego Chargers of the NFL in the strike season of 1987. He closed out the season's final two games with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but did not receive any playing time.
Neuheisel became an assistant coach (quarterbacks) with the NFL's Baltimore Ravens in January 2005. In 2006, the Ravens acquired quarterback Steve McNair and won the AFC's North division with a 13-3 record. After the season, Neuheisel was promoted to offensive coordinator.
College coaching career
Early years
While attending USC Law School on an NCAA postgraduate scholarship, Neuheisel served as a graduate assistant with UCLA, where he tutored Troy Aikman. He graduated with a J.D. from USC in 1988[5] and passed the Arizona State Bar in May 1991 and the Washington, D.C. Bar in March 1993.
He later became a full-time assistant coach in 1988, and stayed at UCLA through the 1993 season. In 1994, he moved to Colorado as an assistant to Bill McCartney.
Colorado
McCartney retired following the 1994 season and Neuheisel, age 34, was named the head coach. He stayed for four seasons (1995–98) in Boulder as the Buffs coach. His best season was his first, in which the Buffs tied for second in the final season of Big Eight play and won the Cotton Bowl. His only losing season at Colorado was 1997; the Buffs were expected to be national title contenders, but never recovered from a blowout loss to Michigan on national television. After the season, the Buffs were forced to forfeit their five wins due to an ineligible player, though Neuheisel was subsequently ruled to not be affected.
NCAA Rule Violations at Colorado
After Neuheisel left for Seattle, Colorado lost five of 25 scholarships for one year, and was put on two years' probation for 53 rules violations, 51 when Neuheisel was the Colorado coach from 1995–98. "This was a serious case," the NCAA's infractions committee ruling said, "in which a football coaching staff, led by the former head football coach, in a calculated attempt to gain a recruiting advantage, pushed beyond the permissible bounds of legislation, resulting in a pattern of recruiting violations.." [6]
It was during his time at Colorado that he first began to be known as "Slick Rick" by his detractors, as it reflected their belief that he possessed a disingenuous personality.
Washington
Neuheisel was welcomed into the Rose Bowl hall of fame before the 1999 Rose Bowl.[7] University of Washington athletic director Barbara Hedges took the opportunity to meet with him and recruit him back as a head coach into the Pacific-10 conference. She fired coach Jim Lambright and named Neuheisel as the replacement.[8] Neuheisel left for Seattle in January 1999 to coach at the University of Washington for four seasons (1999-2002). His starting salary was $1,000,000 annually, at the time one of the five highest in the nation.[8] In the 2000 season, the Huskies won the Pac-10 title and the Rose Bowl over the Big Ten champ Purdue Boilermakers, led by quarterback Drew Brees. Washington, led by senior quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo, the Rose Bowl MVP, finished the season at 11-1 and was ranked third in the final national polls. Rick became the first and only former Rose Bowl MVP to coach a winning Rose Bowl team.
During the 2000 season, Neuheisel and Barbara Hedges were accused (retroactively in a series of painstakingly researched articles by the Seattle Times published in 2008) of overlooking many examples of criminal conduct and hooliganism, while community institutions, including prosecutors, police, judges and the media, went along.[9] During that year, UW safety Curtis Williams was allowed to play despite being issued an outstanding arrest warrant for assaulting his wife, Michelle.[9] Linebacker Jeremiah Pharms was under investigation for robbing and shooting a drug dealer after police found his fingerprints at the scene, but was not charged until the season was over.[9] Jerramy Stevens, the Huskies star tight end, was under investigation of raping a UW freshman on sorority row.[9] When Stevens later crashed his truck into a retirement home, Neuheisel suspended him for half a game.[9]
His 2001 and 2002 teams posted records of 8–4 and 7–6 respectively--to date, the last winning seasons at the school.
In February 2003, Neuheisel secretly interviewed for the San Francisco 49ers coaching job without telling anyone at UW about it. The 49ers' general manager at the time, Terry Donahue, had been Neuheisel's head coach as a player and assistant coach at UCLA. A day after his interview, he issued a statement through UW's athletic department saying he wasn't interested in the job. However, a few days later, a Seattle newspaper reporter wrote that he'd seen Neuheisel discussing the 49ers job on his cell phone while the two were waiting for a flight at San Francisco International Airport. When Hedges found out about it, she and school president Lee Huntsman warned him that further lies would not be tolerated.[10]
NCAA infractions at Washington
Before Neuheisel coached his first game for the Huskies, he had already violated NCAA recruiting rules by visiting high school players before the NCAA approved date to do so. [1] In the summer of 2003, Neuheisel came under fire for taking part in a neighborhood pool for the 2003 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament and lies he told about his actions. He first denied the accusation to investigators before admitting to it after consultation with school officials. The gambling case became a local sensation when it was revealed that he had received an internal UW memo which authorized gambling in off-campus tournament basketball pools. After Hedges learned that Neuheisel faced at least a two-year NCAA suspension, she gave Neuheisel an ultimatum--resign or be fired. He refused, and was fired on June 11.[11]
That fall, the NCAA infractions committee found Neuheisel violated NCAA rules against gambling but didn't sanction him, citing the memo by Washington's former compliance officer that mistakenly authorized this type of gambling. It also became apparent that the NCAA violated its own rules when questioning Neuheisel about the gambling. UW had its probation extended for failing to monitor its football program.[12][13]
Neuheisel sued both the NCAA and UW concerning the termination of his employment contract. Toward the end of trial, it was revealed that the NCAA had failed to turn over certain crucial evidence to Neuheisel's attorneys. The new evidence (updated NCAA bylaws pertaining to rules investigations) bolstered Neuheisel's claim that the NCAA acted improperly during its investigation that eventually led to his firing. With the new evidence revealed, the NCAA and University of Washington agreed to settle instead of proceeding to the jury. The settlement awarded Neuheisel $4.5 million, consisting of cash payments and some loan forgiveness. He served as a volunteer coach for Rainier Beach High School in Seattle for two seasons (2003–04).
Neuheisel had been spotted around State College, Pennsylvania, fueling speculation that he was in line for a coaching position at Penn State once legend Joe Paterno retired.[14]
UCLA Bruins
Neuheisel was invited to two interviews regarding the head coaching position at his alma mater UCLA, following the firing of his former UCLA teammate, Karl Dorrell.[15] Ravens head coach Brian Billick assured that he would allow Neuheisel to leave the team before the completion of the 2007 NFL season.[16] Other candidates in which UCLA showed interest and interviewed included: Oregon Ducks Coach Mike Bellotti, Temple Owls Coach Al Golden, Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Norm Chow, UCLA’s defensive coordinator and interim coach DeWayne Walker, and then-Philadelphia Eagles assistant John Harbaugh.[17]
On December 29, 2007, Neuheisel was introduced as the head coach of the UCLA Bruins in a five-year contract that pays him $1.25 million per season and includes incentives that could add $500,000 a year.[18] He immediately began to consolidate his coaching staff by retaining DeWayne Walker, Karl Dorrell's defensive coordinator and interim coach for the Bruins 2007 bowl game.[19] He made a major move by hiring Norm Chow, offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans and previously the offensive coordinator of crosstown rival USC's 2003 and 2004 national championship seasons.[20] He also began to make himself highly visible to the media, including appearing at the 2008 Rose Bowl[21], taking out a full-page ad in the Los Angeles Times declaring "THE FOOTBALL MONOPOLY IN LOS ANGELES IS OFFICIALLY OVER", and coining the phrase "Passion Bucket" during an interview on the Dan Patrick Show by saying, "When you’re at UCLA, you have to have your passion bucket full when you play the Trojans." He also engineered an agreement with Pete Carroll that allows both UCLA and USC to wear their home jerseys during the annual game.[22]
2008-09
Neuheisel had his first win on September 1 with the Bruins as they defeated No. 18 Tennessee 27-24. The win came in overtime as Tennessee's field goal try sailed wide left.[23] However, the team's newfound momentum would come grinding to a halt in successive weeks. A brutal 59-0 defeat on the road at the hands of No. 18 BYU was followed by a disappointing 31-10 loss at home to unranked Arizona in the Bruins' Pac-10 opener. The UCLA offense failed to score a touchdown in either contest. The team finished the season 4-8 (3-6 in conference).
Despite this record, Neuheisel was still able to sell the program and secure the #5 class in the nation by Scout.com. The class was headlined by two former USC commits, Morrell Presley and Randall Carroll. Neuheisel also demonstrated impressive recruiting closure, finishing with offensive linemen Xavier Sua-Filo and Stan Hasiak as well as running back Damien Thigpen on the last day—a huge boost to the team's offensive line as well as the overall team speed.
Neuheisel will be one of several college football coaches participating on the 2009 Armed Forces Entertainment college football "Coaches Tour" to help rally U.S. servicemen and women in the Middle East and Europe and show appreciation for their efforts. They will go to U.S. military installations in Germany, Turkey, Spain, Iraq and Djbouti (Africa).[24]
Family
Neuheisel and his wife, Susan (née Wilkinson), have three sons: Jerry (b. Apr-1992), Jack (b. Aug-1994), and Joe (b. Jan-1997). His father, Richard "Dick" Gerald Neuheisel, an attorney, is a past president of Sister Cities International.[25]
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado (Big 8) (1995) | |||||||||
| 1995 | Colorado | 10–2 | 5–2 | T-2nd | W Cotton | 4 | 5 | ||
| Colorado (Big 12) (1996–98) | |||||||||
| 1996 | Colorado | 10–2 | 7–1 | 2nd | W Holiday | 8 | 8 | ||
| 1997 | Colorado | 5–6* | 3–5* | T-4th | — | — | |||
| 1998 | Colorado | 8–4 | 4–4 | 4th | W Aloha | — | — | ||
| Colorado: | 33–14 | 19–12 | * Colorado forfeited all wins of the 1997 season due to an ineligible player, but Neuheisel was ruled not to be affected. |
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| Washington (Pac-10) (1999–2002) | |||||||||
| 1999 | Washington | 7–5 | 6–2 | 2nd | L Holiday | — | — | ||
| 2000 | Washington | 11–1 | 7–1 | T-1st | W Rose | 3 | 3 | ||
| 2001 | Washington | 8–4 | 6–2 | T-2nd | L Holiday | 19 | 19 | ||
| 2002 | Washington | 7–6 | 4–4 | T-4th | L Sun | — | — | ||
| Washington: | 33–16 | 23–9 | |||||||
| UCLA (Pac-10) (2008–present) | |||||||||
| 2008 | UCLA | 4–8 | 3–6 | 8th | |||||
| 2009 | UCLA | 6–6 | 3–6 | 8th | |||||
| UCLA: | 10–14 | 6–12 | |||||||
| Total: | 76–44 | ||||||||
| National Championship Conference Title Conference Division Title | |||||||||
| †Indicates BCS bowl game. #Rankings from final Coaches Poll. °Rankings from final AP Poll. |
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References
- ^ Los Angeles Times: Neuheisel goes back to school
- ^ "Rick Neuheisel Named UCLA Head Football Coach". 2007-12-29. http://uclabruins.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/122907aae.html. Retrieved 2007-12-29.
- ^ Dilbeck, Steve - RETURN OF THE RICK CONTROVERSIAL NEUHEISEL BACK FOR REUNION OF '80S BRUINS. Los Angeles Daily News, October 18, 2003 (hosted at thefreelibrary.com) Quote:Neuheisel was a senior quarterback at UCLA in 1983 and was benched after an 0-2-1 start. "(Terry) Donahue told me when things like that happen to a football team, one of two things usually happens," he said. "Either the head coach gets fired or the quarterback gets fired. He said he was sorry to tell me, but he wasn't getting fired."
- ^ Jerry Crowe, Text messages from press row…, Los Angeles Times, November 27, 2007.
- ^ Smith <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22457196/>MSNBC/Orange County Register
- ^ Steve Wilstein - NCAA almost gets Colorado/Neuheisel affair right. Newspaper Network of Central Ohio, October 10, 2002.
- ^ Rose Bowl Hall of Fame
- ^ a b Tom Griffin - Sudden Impact. Husky Football Sees Surprise Coaching Turnover as Colorado Coach Rick Neuheisel Replaces Jim Lambright. Columns - The University of Washington Alumni Magazine, March 1999
- ^ a b c d e Armstrong, Ken and Nick Perry - The disturbing story behind the last great UW team — and how its legacy still casts a shadow on the Huskies. Seattle Times, January 27, 2008. Quote:At least a dozen members of the Rose Bowl team were arrested that year or charged with a crime that carried possible jail time. At least a dozen others on that team got in trouble with the law in other seasons.
- ^ Hedges: Neuheisel lied about 49ers contact. ESPN, 2005-02-03.
- ^ Baker, Mike. Neuheisel describes 'devastating' termination. The Daily of the University of Washington, 2005-02-15.
- ^ NCAA clears Neuheisel, extends Washington's probation. CBS SportsLine.com, October 20, 2004
- ^ Dennis Dodd - Slick Rick walks. CBS SportsLine.com, October 20, 2004.
- ^ Neil Rudel - Paterno rallying support. Altoona Mirror, Altoona, Pennsylvania, November 30, 2007 Quote:The annual Rick Neuheisel rumor got some legs when the Baltimore Ravens assistant, during an open date, was spotted at Beaver Stadium for a midseason game.
- ^ Chris Foster, Neuheisel to get second interview, Los Angeles Times, December 19, 2007.
- ^ David Ginsburg - With nothing to lose but another game, Ravens focus on Patriots. USA Today, November 26, 2007
- ^ Foster, Chris - Chow no longer interested in head coach job. Los Angeles Times, December 21, 2007
- ^ Chris Foster, Neuheisel goes back to school, Los Angeles Times, December 30, 2008, Accessed July 26, 2008.
- ^ Chris Foster, Neuheisel’s first recruiting effort is for Walker, Los Angeles Times, December 30, 2008, Accessed July 26, 2008.
- ^ Chris Foster, UCLA hires Norm Chow as offensive coordinator, Los Angeles Times, January 21, 2008, Accessed July 26, 2008.
- ^ T.J. Simers, Neuheisel sees what he’s up against, Los Angeles Times, January 2, 2008, Accessed July 26, 2008.
- ^ Tom Hoffarth - MEDIA: The special affects of snow - 'Passion bucket' list grows. Los Angeles Daily News, January 18, 2008. Quote:First used by incoming UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel on Patrick's show a couple of weeks ago, "passion bucket" has already been dropped into an HBO "Inside the NFL" show last week by Bob Costas and used on the NFL Network by "Total Access" host Rich Eisen - both by Patrick's prodding.
- ^ Foster, Chris - UCLA 27, NO. 18 TENNESSEE 24 (OT) Kevin Craft rallies UCLA past Tennessee. Los Angeles Times, September 2, 2008
- ^ Rick Neuheisel To Participate in Coaches Tour To Middle East, May 22, 2009
- ^ Rick Neuheisel Coach bio University of Washington, dated 1999 before the start of his first season coaching the Huskies
Bibliography
- Baker, Chris - Neuheisel Proves to Be Poison to Illinois. Four Scoring Passes Are a Tough Act for Illini to Stomach. Los Angeles Times, January 3, 1984. Quote:"UCLA quarterback Rick Neuheisel had trouble sleeping before Monday's Rose Bowl game, but it wasn't because he was having nightmares about facing Illinois' defense."
- Barnhart, Jim - 1984: Illini no match for Neuheisel, UCLA, Bloomington-Normal, Illinois Pantagraph (Pantagraph.com), December 15, 2007
- Dodds, Tracy - Ailing Quarterback Leads UCLA to 45-9 Win in Rose Bowl. Los Angeles Times, January 3, 1984
- Hurst, Matt - Illinois' 1984 Rose Bowl loss is one the team would like to forget. The (Riverside) Press-Enterprise, December 26, 2007
- Los Angeles Times Staff - Caltech at It Again. Credit Beavers for Sabotaging Rose Bowl Scoreboard. Los Angeles Times, January 3, 1984. Quote:"In the fourth quarter, UCLA was leading Illinois, 38-9, but the scoreboard read: Caltech 38, MIT 9."
- Los Angeles Times Staff - Favorites Bowled Over. Neuheisel Leads Bruins to Glory; Nebraska Loses. Los Angeles Times, January 3, 1984. Quote:"In a day of bowl game upsets, UCLA swamped Illinois, 45-9, No. 2-ranked Texas was defeated, 10-9, by Georgia and previously unbeaten Nebraska, rated No. 1 in all polls, was surprised by Miami, 31-30."
- Timmerman, Bob - The Rose Bowl and me: Part two: January 2, 1984 - UCLA vs. Illinois. Baseball Toaster (Griddle), December 27, 2006
- UCLA Bruins Football Media Guide (PDF copy available at www.uclabruins.com)
- Witz, Billy - Many Hats, but Finally the One That Fits for Neuheisel. New York Times, August 24, 2008
External links
- Baltimore Ravens - Rick Neuheisel
- Linde, Richard, "The Neuheisel Chronicles"
- Neuheisel enjoying life with the Ravens - The Seattle Times - 13-Jan-2007
- Settlement reached in Neuheisel's lawsuit against NCAA and UW - The Seattle Times 07-March-2005
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Karl Dorrell and DeWayne Walker (interim) |
UCLA Bruins Head Football Coach 2008–present |
Succeeded by current |
| Preceded by Jim Fassel |
Baltimore Ravens Offensive Coordinator 2007 |
Succeeded by Cam Cameron |
| Preceded by Brian Billick |
Baltimore Ravens Quarterbacks Coach 2005–2006 |
Succeeded by Cam Cameron |
| Preceded by Jim Lambright |
University of Washington Huskies Head Football Coach 1999–2002 |
Succeeded by Keith Gilbertson |
| Preceded by Bill McCartney |
University of Colorado Buffaloes Head Football Coach 1995–1998 |
Succeeded by Gary Barnett |
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