Is Rick Neuheisel about to start a “Neu” era at UCLA, or will Chancellor Block block his chance?
Rick Neuheisel got a callback.
According to several mainstream reports, Neuheisel became the first Bruin Head Coaching candidate to advance to the “Meet the Chancellor” stage of the process. Last night, Neuheisel was on campus, explaining to Chancellor Gene Block about his dubious past.
Based on Block’s exuberance at the BeatSC bonfire, he is probably happy about Neuheisel’s history as a winning Bruin Quarterback. We wonder if Neuheisel’s degree from sc Law gives Block any doubt about Neuheisel’s Loyalty and Understanding of the Rivalry. We understand that lots of Bruins are “forced” to attend certain sc graduate schools, without losing their position in the Rivalry. Based on that knowledge, we would be willing to forgive Rick for this mind-boggling error in judgement. However, let it be known that WE personally would have NEVER gone to that cesspool, for ANY class, for any reason. Just like with Henry Bibby, who supposedly had LIMITED options before becoming a despicable traitor, there are ALWAYS other alternatives if you care enough.
Regardless of this mistake in his past, we have no intention of not supporting Coach Rick. Not that we’re out there campaigning for his hiring, but without other high-profile candidates turning up, we are trying to take a more positive look. His violations at Colorado were considered MINOR by the NCAA, and lying to a trojan about an Office Pool is also not a deal-breaker in our minds. We aren’t thrilled that neither of his Programs sustained success, but we are a little more worried about his present assignment being a failure. Rick is the Offensive Coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens, who have one of the worst Offenses in the entire League. The Neuheisel camp will tell you not to worry, because Head Coach Brian Billick calls their plays, not Neuheisel. That’s good, but even so, there is more than enough blame to go around — They are THAT bad.
Despite all the preceding negativity, if we had to bet, we would say that a Neuheisel-led Bruin team would achieve great Offensive success within 2 or 3 years. As for repeat violations, Neuheisel apparently won Dan Guerrero’s confidence, in his ability to monitor the Program effectively, or he never would have made it to the second interview. The rumor that the big-money donors (i.e. Pauley renovators) are pushing for Neuheisel probably didn’t hurt either.
Feel free to fire off your comments on who you want or don’t want, but remember, this ain’t that hatchet-site, and we don’t appreciate all the b.s., racism, and venomous negativity. We wish to stay somewhat neutral, and plan on supporting whomever gets chosen. The only thing that would disappoint us is if they pick someone that no one has ever heard of, but even if they go that route, we’ll still be supportive, and not jump on the a-hole bandwagon.