The Rick Neuheisel era of UCLA football will come to an end in Friday’s inaugural Pac-12 Championship game.
Regardless of how the Bruins fare against the No. 8 Ducks (10-2, 8-1 Pac-12) in Eugene, Ore., Neuheisel’s firing will take effect immediately. The decision was announced Monday by Athletic Director Dan Guerrero. Guerrero thought he owed it to Neuheisel to let him finish the season this weekend.
“I didn’t want to wait three or four days to string him along if he were thinking about what his situation was,” Guerrero said. “It made sense for us to let him know.”
Neuheisel said he was asked to coach in the championship game but would have asked to anyway had the invitation not been extended.
“It’s important to finish what you start,” he said.
This season, the latest in four years of mediocrity from Neuheisel, has shown glimpses of promise that have been marred by ugly defeats. UCLA (6-6, 5-4) won all but one of its six games after losing in the previous matches, but their wins have come over teams that are a combined 28-45; while at UCLA, Neuheisel beat only three teams that finished the season with winning records.
“I’ve tried to preach to these kids that it’s not how many times you get knocked down, it’s how many times you get back up, so we’re going to get back up and see if we can play a great game on Friday night,” Neuheisel said.
When he spoke to his players for the first time after the firing, he told them he didn’t want to be a distraction and that the game shouldn’t be about him.
“Our mantra has always been: Tough times don’t last, tough people do,” Neuheisel said. “I’ll be fine.”
This week, Neuheisel has tried to take all of the attention off himself in an attempt to stay focused on the opponent. He’s discouraging any “win one for Rick” whispers going around Spaulding Field, but some players feel that sort of attitude is inevitable.
“You have a bunch of guys that like coach Neuheisel and respect the man that he is,” redshirt junior tight end Joseph Fauria said. “He didn’t want to be a distraction and we told him that he wasn’t. But we still wanted to play for him.”
Several players said they wished the decision to let Neuheisel go would not have been announced until after Friday’s game because it may serve as a distraction as they prepare to go up against the Ducks.
“I thought we would still get a shot to play in the game before they made any decisions but they chose to go the path they did,” redshirt junior quarterback Kevin Prince said.
“It’s untimely before a Friday game,” Fauria added.
Offensive coordinator Mike Johnson will serve as the interim coach if UCLA accepts an invitation to a bowl game. That possibility remains after the NCAA granted UCLA’s waiver petition Wednesday to play in a bowl game should the Bruins lose to the Ducks and fall to 6-7.
The Bruins went through their last practice under Neuheisel on Wednesday and paid him tribute by carrying him off the field singing “The Mighty Bruins.”
“It’s meaningful when you work to create relationships and you want desperately for them to achieve what they’re capable of achieving,” said Neuheisel, gulping back tears. “Despite the fact that we didn’t win enough games, I think they are achieving as people.”
The fact that UCLA is playing for the Pac-12 Championship has been a hot topic of discussion in national circles this week. Many feel that UCLA “back-doored” its way into the title game by virtue of USC, which finished in first, not being eligible and Utah losing to lowly Colorado.
The Bruins are 30-point underdogs playing at Oregon’s Autzen Stadium, a reward for finishing with the best conference record.
“I want to think about playing our asses off,” Neuheisel said. “I want to think about being furious with respect to the intensity that we play with. That will give us a chance and we’ll see what transpires, but we are going to play like there’s no tomorrow because there isn’t.”