A familiar name is returning to spring football as the Dallas Renegades named Rick Neuheisel the new head coach on Tuesday. Neuheisel will remain a studio analyst for CBS Sports College Football.
“The United Football League is fortunate to have a legendary football coach like Rick Neuheisel join its ranks,” said UFL President & CEO Russ Brandon. “Rick is exceptional at what he does, and he raises the bar everywhere he goes. We are excited to see the kind of game that he will bring to our league. It will not only mold our players but take them to the next level.”
Rick Neuheisel is 64 years old and from Madison, Wisconsin. Neuheisel last coached in 2019 for the Arizona Hotshots of the Alliance of American Football, where the team went 5-3 before the league folded.
Neuheisel played four seasons at UCLA (1980-83), completing 176 of 258 passes (68.2%) for 2,182 yards, 11 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and 76 carries for -179 yards in 22 games for the Bruins. He helped the Bruins win the 1984 Rose Bowl over Illinois, where he was named MVP.
Rick Neuheisel bypassed the NFL to join the San Antonio Gunslingers of the United States Football League in 1984. He spent two seasons in San Antonio, completing 450 of 806 passes (55.8%) for 5,610 yards, 32 touchdowns, 40 interceptions, 91 carries for 408 yards, and three rushing touchdowns in 32 games.
After the USFL folded, Neuheisel spent time with the San Diego Chargers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In San Diego, he appeared in three games, completing 2 of 3 passes (67.8%) for 367 yards, one touchdown, one interception, two carries for six yards, one rushing touchdown, and made one extra point.
Neuheisel retired after the 1987 season. Before retiring, he began coaching as a graduate assistant at UCLA. He would later be the quarterbacks coach from 1988 to 1989, and the wide receivers coach from 1990 to 1993. Next, he was named the offensive coordinator at Colorado in 1994. He was named the coach the following year. In Colorado, he went 33-14, leading Colorado to three bowl victories in the Cotton Bowl, Holiday Bowl, and the Aloha Bowl.
After Colorado, he was named head coach of the Washington Huskies in 1999. He went 33-16 with the Huskies, leading them to win the Pac-10 in 2000, the Pac-12 South Division title in 2011, and appearing in four bowl games, winning the Rose Bowl in 2000 and the EagleBank Bowl in 2011. He was let go after the 2011 season. Neuheisel’s overall college football record is 87-59, and 5-4 in bowl games. Neuheisel also spent time coaching in the NFL for the Baltimore Ravens as a quarterback coach and offensive coordinator from 2005 to 2007.
