Colorado University Athletics
Brooks: Neuheisel Can See Better Days Under Mac II
July 27, 2013 | Football, B.G. Brooks
CULVER CITY, Calif. - No one lands on his feet better than Rick Neuheisel - and critics liberally sprinkled from the Rockies to points up and down the West Coast will grin slyly and say that's because no one has had more opportunities.
In mid-November of 2011 before Colorado traveled to play what would be Neuheisel's final UCLA team, then-Buffs coach Jon Embree characterized his former coaching colleague/boss as 'a survivor, he always has been. Plus, he's a competitor.
'Rick Neuheisel wants to beat Jon Embree's behind in anything we do. It goes all the way back to noon hoops when he was here (at CU) as an assistant. I'm not worried about all of that stuff.'
'All of that stuff' was this: Neuheisel was said to be entering his final days as the Bruins head coach - which proved to be true. Nine days after Neuheisel's team flogged Embree's (45-6), UCLA pulled the plug. UCLA fired Neuheisel on Nov. 28, 2011 but allowed him to coach in the Pac-12 Conference championship game against Oregon.
A 49-31 loss ended Neuheisel's tenure in Westwood at 21-29 (13-23 in the Pac-10/12). His four-season stop at UCLA was his only losing layover as a college head coach; four years at CU (1995-98) produced a 33-14 record, the subsequent four years at Washington (1999-2002) produced a 33-16 mark.
No need to fully revisit the circumstances of Neuheisel's arrival or departure from either Boulder or Seattle. Yes, he did find well-stocked rosters at both places. Yes, his exits from both places (particularly U-Dub) were complex and fairly controversial.
Nonetheless, in his hopscotch through a volatile profession and even now, Neuheisel remains exactly as Embree characterized him - a survivor. Always glib and engaging, Neuheisel remained out of work less than a month after UCLA cut him loose. In December 2011, CBS Sports Network brought him on as a guest analysis for its Inside College Football  show, and that led to Pac-12 Network hiring him in May 2012 as a studio and game-day analyst.
No surprise, but he was back on his feet.
On Friday he was bouncing between venues and interviews at Pac-12 Football Media Day at the Sony Studios. Neuheisel has an undeniable flair for whatever he does in front of the camera and a passion for college football. He has kept track of the Buffs and their seven-year struggle to regain their footing.
As Bill McCartney's quarterbacks coach in 1994 and McCartney's successor, Neuheisel witnessed how successful football could be at CU. A couple of his quotes from those seasons stuck with me, and I don't know whether he regrets saying them. Probably not, because they were true at the time and still are.
Neuheisel said CU 'has everything that money can't buy,' and after accepting the UW job he spoke of the 'haves and have-nots' in college football - a line he resurrected at UCLA. CU still is struggling to reposition itself among the 'haves,' but without a winning season since 2005, some Buffs fans might be wondering if it can ever happen again.
Neuheisel believes it can under new coach Mike MacIntyre - if MacIntyre is given enough time. In our conversation Friday, Neuheisel called MacIntyre 'a guy who's proven he has the patience to go into a place that is down - at least by a win-loss record standpoint - and create a culture where there's incremental improvement and people continue to believe . . . they don't have to wonder if it's going to happen, it has happened in his career (at San Jose State).'
But in Neuheisel's view, CU football is crying out for continuity and stability.
'I think what's pivotal in my mind is that (new athletic director Rick George) be that voice of not necessarily patience, but perseverance,' he said. 'There's going to be some tough times; it's not necessarily going to happen overnight. But they'll get there and they'll get there with the help and patience and perseverance of the fan base as well. To me that's what's critical.'
Neuheisel called MacIntyre's predecessor - Embree - 'a dear friend of mine. I'm upset for him that it didn't turn out well. But there was no voice that was preaching that patience and perseverance. It's very difficult for the head coach to get out there and say, 'We're not very good right now, we need time.'
'Everybody wants to know why you aren't very good; you brought the players in. But he wasn't there long enough (two seasons) to bring the players in. Mike needs time. He needs people to believe and to want it to happen just as much as he does.'
Neuheisel hopes George can 'articulate that and get boosters to believe in it . . . I've been there when Folsom Field is rocking. It can happen. There are enough players in the country that want to go to Colorado. Colorado still has that mystique about being one of the romantic destinations in the country.'
CU's overall administration and its athletic hierarchy have flipped a couple of times since Neuheisel left Boulder, but I asked him anyway if he has sensed that things have turned for the better.
'I think there is certainly the desire for things to turn,' he said. 'Whether that meant heads needed to roll, I have no idea. But I do know that the leadership has shown by virtue of their actions that they want change, they want to build a plan that people can believe in and see incremental improvement and enjoy for a long-term fix, not just something quickly.'
At George's introductory press conference earlier this month, President Bruce Benson and Chancellor Phil DiStefano restated their intentions to see that CU football prospers under MacIntyre. While Neuheisel believes rejoining the 'haves' is possible, he adds, 'State institutions face some real financial situations because states have basically cut them off from the trickle down of monies . . . especially athletic departments that are basically operating on their own.
'What we've created is a group of pseudo owners - the private sector that comes in and supports dear old U and says we want to be a part of it. We see what happens when there's a large contributor.'
Neuheisel mentioned T. Boone Pickens at Oklahoma State and Phil Knight at Oregon. 'Those places almost went overnight to national prominence,' he said. 'I don't know that that person exists in the Buff family - but there doesn't have to be one. It can be combination of five, ten, fifteen people that get together and say, 'Hey, this is important to us. The (CU) program has traditionally been a strong one; we've got some great memories but let's create some new ones. Here's how we'll do it.'
If CU expects to 'compete at the highest level,' said Neuheisel, 'you have to finance those expectations. And that money's not coming from the state; it has to come privately. Those people have to get behind whoever the leaders are - coach MacIntyre, Rick George . . . if they can build it and be part of it, there's no more rewarding experience than that.'
The two Ricks - Neuheisel and George - didn't cross paths in Boulder, but Neuheisel said he knew of George when he was returning to see former acquaintances at CU while Neuheisel was the Buffs' head coach.
'By all accounts (George) was a terrific hire,' Neuheisel said. 'I just hope he and 'Mac' lock arms and get the old 'Mac' (McCartney) to lock arms with them because no one can preach better than he can about the virtues of a strong football program at CU and see if they can get that thing going.
'I know in my time there it was an unbelievable experience to be part of that history . . . when Ralphie runs and the football program runs, there's nothing better in the Rockies.'
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
