Rick Neuheisel always embodied the rah-rah passion of college football, coaching Washington to a flock of come-from-behind, fourth-quarter victories in 2000 and 2001.

Now, can the 44-year-old ex-UW coach return to that college arena someday, despite the legal joust with the UW and NCAA that resulted in a court settlement yesterday?

"I want to have a relationship with the NCAA, to get a chance to go back and coach in college football," Neuheisel said. "I don't want there to be bad blood."

Yesterday, two college athletic directors speaking anonymously offered opposing views on whether Neuheisel, who now begins a job coaching quarterbacks with the NFL's Baltimore Ravens, might be able to return to the college game.

"I think it would be awhile," said one athletic director. "When you search for coaches these days, you do check with the NCAA on their past records. I would think the violations at Colorado and Washington would pop up."

The fact that Mike Price and Larry Eustachy rebounded to land jobs after messy public escapades doesn't necessarily equate to Neuheisel, this athletic director maintains.

"It's (the Neuheisel case) a little different because of the NCAA issues," he said.

Another former athletic director, however, says the tenor of the times in college athletics lends to the notion that Neuheisel will land on his feet someday, perhaps after time creates a little distance.

"College athletics is such a mess," he said. "The business seems to be upside down right now. It's all about W's (wins) and big money and preserving your piece of the pie. Any way you can get there and not get caught (is considered OK), more than it's ever been."

Further, he said of Neuheisel, "This is kind of a vindication for him. A lot of people would probably re-evaluate their knee-jerk reaction and think this was not handled well. It's all in the eyes of the beholder. Some schools are very much against what the NCAA is doing and would say, 'I'm going to do my own thing.' Others would go to the gospel and say, 'I'm not going to touch him.' "

Neuheisel sounded conciliatory yesterday, saying, "No one understands the great opportunities that come from college football more than I. I'm hopeful that today will come and go, and we can move on."

Bud Withers: 206-464-8281 or bwithers@seattletimes.com