Colorado University Athletics
Football
Nov 29 (Sat)
10 AM
- Title:
- Assistant Coach/Special Teams Coordinator
- Email:
- toby.neinas@colorado.edu
Toby Neinas is in his third year as the special teams coordinator at the University of Colorado, joining new head coach Mike MacIntyre’s staff on February 25, 2013, and in the process, returned to the city where he spent much of his childhood. He is in his 20th season as a full-time collegiate coach.
Neinas, 43, came to CU from Montana State, where he coached the secondary for the 2012 season. The Bobcats were 11-2 in his one season there, tri-champions of the Big Sky Conference, reaching the Football Championship Division (FCS) quarterfinals where they lost to Sam Houston State. Montana State was 14th in the nation in pass efficiency defense under Neinas’ guidance (a paltry 112.72 rating), and the opponent completing just 52.6 percent of their passes (11th in FCS) with 13 interceptions.
His first special team units at CU saw a few struggle out of the gate – kickoff and punt coverage and kickoff return – but over the last nine weeks of the season, they ranked eighth, 40th and 25th nationally. In his second year in 2014, the kickoff return average of 23.7 ranked 18th in the nation, CU’s highest since a similar rank in 2002, with the opponent average the lowest in five seasons.
And combined, placekicker Will Oliver made 105-of-117 kicks (all 72 PATs and 33-of-45 field goals), the best by a CU kicker with 100 or more tries since All-American Mason Crosby in 2004-05 (99-of-112).
Prior to his only year coaching on the FCS level, he spent three years at the University of New Mexico (2009-11), coaching the linebackers all three seasons and serving as defensive coordinator in his final year there and as the special teams coordinator the first two. He coached two All-Mountain West Conference performers at UNM, punter Adam Miller and linebacker Carmen Messina, who led the nation in tackles in 2009 (162 as a sophomore); he repeated as s a first-teamer in 2010 and finished his career as the conference’s all-time leader in tackles.
Neinas coached three seasons under coach Chuck Long at San Diego State (2006-08), coordinating the special teams all three years along with coaching the Aztec tight ends in 2006 and 2007 and the outside linebackers his last year there. At SDSU, he coached punter Michael Hughes to honorable mention All-America honors in 2007 (Hughes ranked 13th in the nation with a 43.9 average), and tutored Tyler Schmitt, the only long snapper specialist selected in the 2008 NFL Draft (sixth round by Seattle). He also trebled the output by Aztec tight ends between his first and second years coaching the position (38 receptions for 310 yards and two touchdowns compared to 10-107 and zero).
His first full-time coaching position was with the University of Alabama-Birmingham, where he would spend seven seasons (1996-2002) and coached numerous positions under coach Watson Brown: the outside linebackers, defensive ends, safeties, running backs and tight ends. At UAB, he coached four Blazers that were selected in the NFL Draft, including defensive end Bryan Thomas, a first round pick by the New York Jets in 2002 (22nd overall), when defensive tackle Eddie Freeman was also selected (second round, 43rd overall, Kansas City Chiefs).
He moved on to Temple University under coach Bobby Wallace for the next four years (2002-05), coaching the defensive line the first two seasons and then the inside linebackers. In 2002, he coached the Big East Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year, tackle Dan Klecko, and his line helped the Owls rank 15th nationally in rushing defense (108.3 yards per game).
Neinas graduated from the University of Missouri with a Bachelor’s degree in History in 1995. It was at Missouri where he began his coaching career, working with the secondary as a student assistant under head coach Bob Stull for the 1993 and 1994 seasons. He then worked as a graduate assistant under Mack Brown at North Carolina in 1995, with the Tar Heels defeating Arkansas in the CarQuest Bowl to finish with a 7-5 record.
He was born September 1, 1971 in Kansas City, Kan., he graduated from Boulder High School where he lettered in football for the legendary prep coach, Dave Ramsey. His hobbies include skiing, cycling and paddling; as a high school student, he worked as a runner in CU’s Fred Casotti Press Box. He is married to the former Cassie Johnson, and the couple has two sons, Charlie (5) and Henry (3).
His father, Chuck, is a longtime college administrator, including serving as the commissioner of the Big Eight Conference for a decade (1971-80), the executive director of the College Football Association (CFA, 1980-97) and most recently as the interim commissioner of the Big 12 (2011-12), with many crediting him as saving the conference. The CFA was based in Boulder, thus the younger Neinas spent his latter grade school through high school years here.
RECORD—He has coached in 220 Division I-A (FBS) games as a full-time coach, including one bowl game (1995 CarQuest). He has coached six players who were drafted and went on to play in the NFL: Russell Allen, Eddie Freeman, Dan Klecko, Carmen Messina, Bryan Thomas and Ryan Wallace.
| COACHING EXPERIENCE | ||
| 1995 | North Carolina | Graduate Assistant |
| 1996 | Alabama-Birmingham | Outside Linebackers |
| 1997-98 | Alabama-Birmingham | Defensive Ends |
| 1999-00 | Alabama-Birmingham | Safeties |
| 2001 | Alabama-Birmingham | Running Backs/Tight Ends |
| 2002-03 | Temple | Defensive Line |
| 2004-05 | Temple | Inside Linebackers |
| 2006-07 | San Diego State | Outside Linebackers/Special Teams |
| 2008 | San Diego State | Tight Ends/Special Teams |
| 2009-10 | New Mexico | Special Teams Coordinator/Linebackers |
| 2011 | New Mexico | Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers |
| 2012 | Montana State | Secondary |
| 2013- | Colorado | Special Teams Coordinator |
