Day Ten

In today’s college football everybody is playing under classmen. They don’t just get mop up duty anymore, they find themselves in the starting lineup or are contributing specialist, i.e. 3rd down back.

Rick Neuheisel opted for playing the under classmen just like everybody else. The problem was he didn’t make the youngsters earn their position on the team. If you are going to play under classmen their are steps you have to consider prior to allowing them to fill that role on the team. The foundation of cracking the lineup is paying your dues. No I don’t think you have to be a junior or a senior in order to pay your dues. But you sure as hell have to work as hard as you can in practice, weight room, and in the class. Secondly you have to be able to earn the respect of your teammates. And how do you do that? By working.

I think Rick was in over his head at Washington. He was so preoccupied about winning and winning big that he overlooked some of this team concept building mistakes. You can’t just give a kid a starring role on the team. If the freshmen works his tail off in practice, weight room, and in class, and has the respect from his teammates then the kid could be considered a starter- for he has earned it. I seriously doubt that Williams earned much of anything while at Washington. It was all given to him.

I believe Neuheisel unknowingly abandoned our senior leadership tradition. He did it at Colorado as well. Once all of McCarthy’s talent had graduated it didn’t look good for the Bufs and bolted for a traditionally tough football power in Washington.

I still think their is a conspiracy out there. Has it been covered up? Rick is a smart guy, if you hold a law degree, you don’t have rocks for brains. Rick was smart, but he played the “ignorant” card way too often. Someone who is that smart can’t figure out that wagering on an NCAA tournament pool is a violation? No matter how small the pool, nor how large the pool- by NCAA regulations it is a no-no. A man so smart can’t figure this out? A man so smart has to ask his compliance officer if wagering on the NCAA tournament is breaking NCAA rules. He’s the man he should know!

Look back at the days when Rick was at Colorado. How did the team peform under him early on? How did the team fall apart after his fourth year? Now ponder Rick early on at Washington. All the success- big Rose Bowl and numerous other bowls. Now compare how Rick left Colorado to how he got out at Washington.

The conspiracy: I think Rick wanted to get fired from Washington. That way he could save face with an illegal termination suit. And he did just that. Just like at Colorado, once the talent was all dried up Rick had to abandon ship. At Colorado it was easy, some easy-target Northwesterners offered to buy out his Colorado contract and offer him 1.2 million dollars per season. At Washington it wasn’t as easy. I think many programs were becoming leary of Slick Rick’s antics of calling out other programs (Oregon & Ucla), Neuheisel was banned from the college football coaches association, and the job offers weren’t coming in as swift as they were immediately following the Rose Bowl victory.

Rick needed an out, because Rick didn’t have an Colorado-like out anymore and like Colorado the talent that was inherited was evaporating rather quickly. Is it a coinsidence that the NCAA tournament wagering issue came out following all this? Was the wager Rick’s out? So that he could save face my bringing formal charges to his employer for illegal termination? I’ve often wondered. It would be a drastic approach to getting out of a difficult situation. But what is worse? Getting terminated and being exposed as a amateur major college football coach or by grinding an ax to save face?

Rick Neuheisel is smart. I use to say “Rick is the dumbest smart guy I ever knew”, but those days have come and gone. I believe their is more to Rick’s UDub departure and I think Rick wanted to be fired by Washington to grind the ax in order to save face.

Believe the conspiracy … and be very afraid … no not of the boogy man, but of Slick Rick.