UCLA hires former UW coach Neuheisel

LOS ANGELES — Rick Neuheisel, who was dubbed "Slick Rick" and later fired for his indiscretions at Washington, has a new title.

UCLA football coach.

After a monthlong chase in which athletic director Dan Guerrero and his search committee were turned down by their top choices, the Bruins on Saturday hired the former UCLA quarterback to replace the fired Karl Dorrell.

Neuheisel, 46, called it a dream come true, though it didn't take long to hit his first rough spot.

A conference call to introduce Neuheisel as coach was interrupted for more than 10 minutes after an opening statement from Guerrero by technical glitches while the new Bruins coach tried to talk.

"Oh, this is a nightmare," Neuheisel groaned.

It's also a new start at his alma mater.

"This is a moment when I sit back in my chair at Morgan Hall and pinch myself and think how lucky it is to be back home," he said.

Neuheisel agreed to a five-year contract worth $1.25 million per year, with incentives that could add $500,000 annually.

He will finish his duties as Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator today, then will be introduced at a UCLA news conference Monday.

Guerrero referred to it as a "clean slate," but the Bruins coach brings considerable baggage to UCLA. Even his 66-30 career record is considered suspect. He was 38-10 in his first two seasons at Colorado and Washington — when coaching players recruited by previous staffs — and 28-20 thereafter.

At Washington, there were NCAA violations, including a three-point basketball shooting contest with a recruit that was deemed an impermissible tryout, contacts with former Colorado players after he had taken the UW job, and contacts with recruits during a "quiet period."

He was fired in 2003 after participating in an NCAA basketball tournament pool and for lying about that as well as his interest in the San Francisco 49ers coaching job. Neuheisel won a $4.5 million wrongful termination settlement from Washington and the NCAA.

Few of the key officials in the Washington athletic department from Neuheisel's tenure remain. UW president Mark Emmert told The Seattle Times he was looking forward to next season's meeting between the Huskies and Bruins on Nov. 15 at Husky Stadium.

"That will be an interesting game," said Emmert, chancellor at Louisiana State before taking over at UW in 2004, who was with the UW basketball team Saturday in Baton Rouge, La.

"We'll have to see how it works out," he added.

Neuheisel is used to such homecomings. In his second year as UW's coach, he took the Huskies back to Colorado, where Washington earned a 17-14 win.

In October 2002, Colorado was cited for a lack of institutional control, put on probation for two years and hit with scholarship reductions and restricted recruiting visits by coaches after the NCAA at least 50 violations, most from when Neuheisel was coach.

Guerrero acknowledged those transgressions concerned him through the hiring process, but talking to officials from the NCAA, Pac-10 Conference, Washington and Colorado — as well as Neuheisel — gave him the "comfort" to move forward.

"I looked Rick in the eye, he looked me in the eye and we conveyed very clearly what our thoughts were," Guerrero said. "This happened five to 10 years ago, and he said he is much wiser and more mature."

Neuheisel said he wanted to set the record straight.

"I take full responsibility and, while I'm not proud of it, I've certainly learned from that and will make sure it won't happen again."

Neuheisel's contract will include the usual language regarding conduct and NCAA violations, Guerrero said, but will allow room for secondary violations to occur.

"I think in every program in America — and I'm not just talking about football, I'm talking about every sport — you're going to have transgressions," he said. "Secondary violations are things that occur."

Neuheisel was 33-16 as Washington's coach, a record that apparently helped him get the job with UCLA. His high-water mark with the Huskies was an 11-1 record in 2000 that concluded with UW winning the 2001 Rose Bowl.

Washington was 7-6 in 2002, Neuheisel's last season, and some close to the program say that problems that have plagued Washington since then were beginning to surface near the end of Neuheisel's tenure. The Huskies were 8-9 in his last 17 games as coach.

Only one player Neuheisel recruited remains on the Huskies roster — center Juan Garcia, who was granted a sixth year of eligibility.

Others interviewed for the Bruins' job were Temple coach Al Golden, Oregon coach Mike Bellotti, Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Norm Chow and Philadelphia Eagles assistant John Harbaugh. Golden, Bellotti and Chow all pulled out of the running.

Neuheisel, who cannot start to recruit until he passes an NCAA coaches exam, could be put to the test early, given the number of wavering recruits in the Bruins' Class of 2008.

Key to keeping those verbal commitments is retaining defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker, a finalist for the UCLA position but also a strong candidate to become Washington's defensive coordinator.

"It's important that we do everything that we can do to make him feel welcome," Neuheisel said.

USC coach Pete Carroll told the Los Angeles Times that Neuheisel is a great choice.

"He's always been a really good recruiter," Carroll said. "The time up in Washington, he proved he could recruit and battled against the tops of this conference. They were an excellent program when he left there."

Neuheisel said being a volunteer assistant coach at Seattle's Rainier Beach High School after being fired helped him greatly.

"That was a grass-roots reminder of what football is all about," he said.

Neuheisel, a former MVP of the Rose Bowl and an assistant with the Bruins, said he's glad to be back in college football.

"I'm not only returning to Saturdays, I'm returning to my alma mater," he said. "It's a dream come true."

Seattle Times staff reporter Bob Condotta contributed to this report. Compiled from reports by The Orange County Register, Los Angeles Times and The Associated Press.