Drama of Rick Neuheisel has faded in Washington

At 5:35 p.m., Rick Neuheisel walked out of the very tunnel from which he used to lead his Washington Huskies.

Hands in his pockets, wearing a sky blue UCLA jacket, with a son in tow, Neuheisel walked up the Washington sideline, almost nostalgically, to about the 10-yard line, then turned right and slowly strolled to the "W" in the middle of Husky Stadium.

Neuheisel was back.

Back to the place where he won 33 games and a Rose Bowl. Back to the university that he ultimately embarrassed by gambling in an NCAA basketball pool and lying about it, by flirting with the San Francisco 49ers and lying about it.

Back to the school where his loose-reined reign led some players to believe they were above the law. Back to the school that fired him before the 2003 season.

Neuheisel was off the bus and back at Washington, which was the only thing compelling about this gnarly nighttime football game. He was back, but it felt like a nonstory. Too little. Too late.

This wasn't like previous returns from past Seattle villains.

For one thing, Husky Stadium was shockingly empty, taking much of the drama out of the moment. Even Neuheisel couldn't wake up the echoes of this winless season.

Sure, he was booed when he ran onto the field with his team, his son and a two-cop escort. But the boos were tepid and lacked staying power.

This wasn't Alex Rodriguez returning to a swollen Safeco Field. When A-Rod came back, as a Ranger, to play the Mariners, boos and false dollar bills fell like confetti onto the field.

When Neuheisel came onto the field, there weren't fake betting slips coming from the upper decks. But a man about 10 rows up behind the UCLA bench later was seen holding up a sign that read, "Hey, Slick, should I take the UW and the points?"

The truth is Neuheisel, who cheesily celebrated his 27-7 win over the Huskies by bringing his family onto the track and up the tunnel as if his 4-6 team had just won the Pac-10, is so yesterday for Washington. It has far greater problems to confront than the return of a once-disgraced coach.

This was the final home game in the Tyrone Willingham era. This was the focus of Washington fans, who understand that this disheveled program needs to find the right coach.

It needs to find better players. It needs to change a culture that has come to expect, if not accept, losing.

Neuheisel and Willingham are just two coaches, two very different coaches, who are inextricably linked to the fall of Washington. There were as many boos for Washington's play-calling as there were for the UCLA coach.

Of course, bygones aren't bygones. Neuheisel's inattention to detail, the pervasive lack of discipline on those Huskies teams and his inability to coach started Washington on this slide.

Neuheisel won with Jim Lambright's players. And the Huskies won the 2001 Rose Bowl almost in spite of Neuheisel. Quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo was the leader of that team.

But at this point in Washington's decline, any lingering anger directed at Neuheisel is wasted energy. If the meager throng inside Husky Stadium came for closure, it didn't get it.

How could this game be cathartic when the home team is winless and wobbling to its fifth straight losing season?

The only catharsis for Washington fans will come from beating Neuheisel regularly, when the Huskies are playing for something important and winning a game against UCLA can get them closer to a bowl game.

How can this city care about Rick Neuheisel in a year when its Major League baseball team lost 101 games? And its NFL team has two wins, the NBA team is gone and the college football team came winless into another Saturday night?

So much lousiness has happened in this city since Neuheisel was canned, it's hard to work up a sweat for bad news that is half a decade old.

At this point in the history of Huskies football, fans are more concerned about the future of Husky Stadium.

Can new athletic director Scott Woodward find the necessary revenue to fund the state-of-the-art remodeling plans for a building that has decayed along with the football program?

This might have been a great night. If Willingham had done his job and gotten Washington into bowl contention in his fourth season. If Neuheisel had inherited more talent at UCLA, the stadium could have rocked like it was 2001.

But it's too late to save this season. Too late to save Willingham. And too late to boo Rick Neuheisel.

Steve Kelley: 206-464-2176 or skelley@seattletimes.com