Neuheisal In at UCLA - ESPN Reporting

**StingerNLG** · 12-29-2007, 05:12 PM

Just saw during the meineke bowl on ESPN, they broke in with the word that Rick Neuheisal has been hired by UCLA.

Not a surprise, but there you go.

**HoustonRaven** · 12-29-2007, 05:23 PM

I guess you really dont actually have to have an offense to run to make a run at a college coaching gig.

Good Riddance .... the only thing he was running was a coffee maker.

**Sephy** · 12-29-2007, 05:32 PM

Hope we can get a good OC this offseason, and soon.

**RavenScallywag** · 12-29-2007, 05:49 PM

I wish the guy luck, and congrats...congrats because he'll actually get to do something with the offense now.

I just hope Biscotti and Newsome are planning to force Billick to relinquish play calling and offense control to the new OC, instead of hiring another "puppet".

**highwater** · 12-29-2007, 06:09 PM

Originally Posted by RavenScallywag

I just hope Biscotti and Newsome are planning to force Billick to relinquish play calling and offense control to the new OC, instead of hiring another "puppet".

That's a little harsh -- if Billick hadn't hired Neuheisal, he probably wouldn't have gotten this job at UCLA. Nobody wanted to touch him after Washington ran him out of town, except the Ravens. They gave him a job and made him hireable. I don't know if he was a puppet or not, but at least they gave him a job when he needed one, in order to stay reasonably relevant.

But I agree that this might open the door to a new offensive approach, or at least something a little different.

**UKRavenStockers** · 12-29-2007, 06:27 PM

Well Maryland brought James Franklin back to College Park this week from Kansas State to improve the offensive coordinator position (also taken from the HC, Friedgen) and recruiting in MD and PA. So I'm sat here hoping for some rollover action with the Ravens bringing in an OC with some fresh ideas to spruce up the offensive set up a little/lot. :D

**RavenScallywag** · 12-29-2007, 06:27 PM

He was a puppet here because he wasn't allowed to do anything! He was basically a Teaching Assisstant. Billick probably let him run the offensive drills in practice, and I'm sure he did "quality control" on the offensive performance, but at the end of the day, Billick was the one running this offense.

That's what I want to avoid with our next OC. It's not so much the OC we bring in, but what Billick does with them. I want us to hire someone who can either modify Billick's system to make it work, or will bring in their own system to make it work here. More improtantly, I want the FO to make it so Billick doesn't just hire someone to run the practices.

I would've loved to see what Neuheisel could've done running the offense here, but the truth is, Billick kept him at the level of a glorified QB coach/assistant head coach.

**ravenwoman** · 12-29-2007, 08:20 PM

I want an OC who is in total, complete and absolute charge of the offense. One who tells Billick to go and sit in the corner with a dunce cap on. A Permanent Timeout!!

**highwater** · 12-29-2007, 10:17 PM

Originally Posted by ravenwoman

I want an OC who is in total, complete and absolute charge of the offense. One who tells Billick to go and sit in the corner with a dunce cap on. A Permanent Timeout!!

I hope you're kidding -- I want a new OC too, but a coordinator is still just a coordinator.

BTW, does Shanahan get as much flack in Denver as Billicik does here, because he should -- I think he also calls the plays, and they haven't exactly had a lot of success since Elway retired, and that's been a while.

**festivus** · 12-29-2007, 10:39 PM

If I were Billick I would be thrilled at replacing Neuheisel with someone capable of running an offense.

His buddy Fassel turned out to be too lazy to work past 5 pm, with everyone else working 18 hour days. They replace him with someone with zero NFL experience. For all the hysteria of the fans, I bet Billick is the first person in line to welcome someone capable at OC.