Sign the Petition for Alleva to interview Rick Neuheisel

[jimsumner]

"Trust me...I have seen the details of what happened during these "impermissable contacts" and they are by all means "petty" and 90% of coaches could be charged with these same "violations" each and every year"

I've always thought they "everybody does it, I just got caught" was a sad excuse. It's not one I ever want to hear from Duke.

[dukie8]

When he was at CU he was charged with several infractions...Many of these were minor and were dropped and the others were obvioulsy results of what many other coaches referred to as a "witch hunt". I for one believe that people deserve second chances or at least an interview where they can tell their side of the story.

Duke took a chance on a BB player that had allegations against him and
they proved to be false and he has become an outstanding young man. Everyone deserves a second chance.

no they don't. vick sure doesn't.

you are comparing false allegations against a teenager to proven violations of an adult. there's just a slight difference there.

[norduck]

You mean someone who participated in an NCAA pool? Oh no, that would be terrible!

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/colle...isel-out_x.htm

[DukeDevilsBB]

For those of you who didn't follow the painful divorce between Neuheisel and UW and the even more painful aftermath,

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...uheisel07.html

I think the opening paragraph says it all...

A settlement was reached this morning that will pay former University of Washington football coach Rick Neuheisel $4.5 million in his wrongful termination suit against the university and NCAA.

and you have to like the results he has produced...Not to mention that Hedges has given Rick her reccomendation for any future position and spoken highly of him.

In four seasons with the Huskies, Neuheisel compiled a 33-16 record, including a Rose Bowl victory in 2001 and a No. 3 national ranking. Former athletic director Barbara Hedges fired him in June 2003 after she said Neuheisel lied to her about interviewing for a job with the San Francisco 49ers and about his participation in NCAA men's basketball gambling pools in 2002 and '03.

[DukeDevilsBB]

no they don't. vick sure doesn't.

you are comparing false allegations against a teenager to proven violations of an adult. there's just a slight difference there.

my comparison may have a slight difference but your comparison of Vick to Rick N is absurd. Sure the violations commited fall squarely on the shoulders of the head coach even though he may not have been actively involved in the actions themselves. Does that make it right? No, but I do believe that he has learned his lesson and this is the perfect opportunity for both a coach and a football program to get a new start.

[OrangeDevil]

The article from the Seattle Times is not the incriminating evidence that Jim implies it to be. Clearly, the relationship was poisoned, in no small part due to Neuheisel himself which he acknowledges. It was indeed sad, but not in the inculpating way that is suggested

But the latest entrant into the sweepstakes? Karl Dorrell? Listen, I live in the LA area and have watched the UCLA fiasco unfold. Dorrell is a blase, fiddle-while-Rome burns coach who couldn't recruit from the super abundant talent pool of Southern California. Now it is expected that if he moves to a strange location three thousand miles away, one with which he has zero connections and familiarity, he can suddenly turn a moribund program around? Guys, this is not even a pipe dream. It is difficult to imagine a more bizarre chioce unless Carl Franks suddenly reappears and Steve Lavin replaces K.

[oli-p]

Duke should hire him and then they should hire Quinn Snyder to replace Coach K when he is retires. The NCAA rules are just guidelines that get in the way.

[DukeDevilsBB]

Duke should hire him and then they should hire Quinn Snyder to replace Coach K when he is retires. The NCAA rules are just guidelines that get in the way.

oh come on thats nuts...Even Duke BB has had its run ins with the NCAA (see: Corey Maggette)

[OrangeDevil]

I'm not sure of the intent, but Quin was not a good fit at Mizzou and violations was not the problem. I, for one, hope he gets another chance and Udub (he's from Mercer Island) might be just the place when Romar moves on.

[dukie8]

my comparison may have a slight difference but your comparison of Vick to Rick N is absurd. Sure the violations commited fall squarely on the shoulders of the head coach even though he may not have been actively involved in the actions themselves. Does that make it right? No, but I do believe that he has learned his lesson and this is the perfect opportunity for both a coach and a football program to get a new start.

i wasn't comparing vick to rick n -- i was just showing that your belief that EVERYONE deserves a second chance is not true. vick can sit in jail for the next 2 years without a 2nd chance.

your comparison is ridiculous. as stated above, you are comparing someone who did NOTHING wrong (shel) to someone who did A LOT wrong (rick n). i am sorry if you cannot tell the difference. duke can do a lot better than someone with that checkered past.

[jimsumner]

My primary concerns with RN concern his multiple violations at Colorado. His follow-ups at Washington certainly suggest a pattern of poor judgment, at the very least.

Cory Maggette? Exactly what trouble did Duke did into with the NCAA because of actions taken place either at Duke or by anyone associated with Duke?

Let's assume for the sake of argument that Neuheisel to Duke comes to fruition. I would be a lot more comfortable with . . .

"I was young. I made some mistakes, I learned from them, and I can absolutely guarantee you that nothing like that will ever happen on my watch at Duke" than . . .

"These were the kind of petty, generic violations that occur in every program and somebody in the NCAA was out to get me."

Redemption and foregiveness and second-chances are all concepts that I agree with and practice as much as possible in my life. But some level of remorse is also necessary, at least for me. I assume that Duke won't move on RN until and unless they receive assurances that he has indeed learned some valuable lessons.

Yes, I want Duke to field a championship football team. I've been going to Wade since Johnson (Lyndon not Andrew) was president, so I've seen the long, slow decline at first hand. But I also am proud of the fact that Duke football has always been run under the highest ethical standards and I darn well want to make absolutely certain that it continues to be run under those standards. I trust that the people responsible for hiring Duke's next football coach share that sentiment.

But yes, the possibility that Duke might hire a coach with Neuheisel's background gives me pause for concern. It needs to be addressed head-on rather than swept under the rug. There is bagagge there and it does no one any good to try to pretend otherwise.

[OrangeDevil]

I agree with pretty much every word Jim Sumner said. Caution and some degree of contrition yes, but bring Neuheisel in for an interview.

[juise]

Let's assume for the sake of argument that Neuheisel to Duke comes to fruition. I would be a lot more comfortable with . . .

"I was young. I made some mistakes, I learned from them, and I can absolutely guarantee you that nothing like that will ever happen on my watch at Duke" than . . .

"These were the kind of petty, generic violations that occur in every program and somebody in the NCAA was out to get me."

Yeah, so that's basically what he has said:

"Was I trying to be creative? Yes. Was I trying to be aggressive as a young 33-year old head coach trying to make it in a world that is extremely competitive? Was I out there trying to win favor, and so forth? There is no question. Nearly all of these issues could have been avoided had I checked, and more importantly, probably double-checked with the compliance officer at the University of Colorado."



I grew up a University of Washington fan because my grandfather is an alum and, though it's been painful in recent years, I've stuck by them (along with my more recent Blue Devil allegiance of course). I was disappointed to see Rick leave UDub, mainly due to the success they enjoyed they enjoyed under him, but also because I was not convinced that his dismissal was justified. I would not be concerned about he cleanliness of the Duke program (figuratively speaking) if Neuheisal were to be hired. I end to believe that he has learned some lessons and I think that he would be watched very closely at Duke.

Having said that, I'm not sure he's the right hire for a program desiring a permanent improvement. I think he would recruit well. I think the offense would improve tremendously. However, I tend to believe that he would not stick around long after achieving any level of success at Duke. I don't want to be a downer, but I don't see Duke competing for a national title in the next 5-8 years. If Neuheisal got Duke to an astonishing 7-5 record, let's say, I think he takes off for an upper tier program and a bigger spotlight.

Maybe we're so desperate that 7-5 and (sort of) starting over would be good enough. Maybe the improvements made to reach 7-5 would be significant enough to make the hire. I'm getting a little off topic and getting way ahead of myself (Neuheisal is not a top candidate and Duke getting to 7-5 is a long ways), so I'll quit now.

[HumboldtDevil]

I've always thought highly of RN as a coach and thought he got a raw deal. Yes, he has made mistakes, but to get fired for "gambling" in an NCAA Tournament pool is just silly. I don't care what NCAA rules there are regarding that type of "gambling", by this point we know that the NCAA has rules that make no sense at all and is more than willing to enforce them to prove how powerful it is. I probably wouldn't have passed through the NCAA Clearing House after high school if the NCAA had known that I helped organize an NCAA pool every March. Gasp! High school students "gambling"!

Not excusing RN, but saying that he is too good of a coach to not get another shot somewhere. Why not at Duke? And if you're worried about him not sticking around, stop worrying. Let's say RN comes to Duke and has some success, but decides to leave. How is that horrible? Duke has the worst power conference program around and people are worried about a guy coming in, winning, then leaving for a bigger job. How about realizing that Duke would have made huge strides by that point and actually won some games. By the time the next coaching search comes around you have a lot more interest in the job because coaches will see that you can, in fact, win some games with this program. I wouldn't worry about a coach leaving by choice after a few years at this point.

And even though RN certainly had an effect on what has happened since he left Colorado and Washington due to violations, there's no doubt that had he stayed at either place they would have been much better off. Washington hit bottom under Gilbertson and is still there for at least one more year with Willingham (the most respected .500 coach in sports history), Colorado is just coming back up now under Hawkins. Meanwhile, RN still has a 66-30 record as a high-level college head coach.

Give the guy a shot.

As far as Dorrell goes, he should've done better with UCLA. I can't say what kind of fit he would be at Duke, though. According to Scout and Rivals, Dorrell's classes were in and out of the Top 25, but they both have UCLA's current (and soon to shrink, I'm sure) class in the Top 10. Too little too late for Dorrell, though.

[1Devil]

Duke should hire him and then they should hire Quinn Snyder to replace Coach K when he is retires. The NCAA rules are just guidelines that get in the way.

Quin. Not Quinn. Quin. Quin. Quin. Quin. Quin. Quin. Quin. Quin.

[jimbonelson]

If you support Rick Neuheisel please sign the petition. I personally believe this is the guy for the job!


http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/H...uheiselatDuke/

please take him away from the ravens

[DukeDevilsBB]

Let's assume for the sake of argument that Neuheisel to Duke comes to fruition. I would be a lot more comfortable with . . .

"I was young. I made some mistakes, I learned from them, and I can absolutely guarantee you that nothing like that will ever happen on my watch at Duke" than . . .

"These were the kind of petty, generic violations that occur in every program and somebody in the NCAA was out to get me."

Jim,

I agree I would be more comfortable with that as well. From what I understand, Rick would be willing to have a contract structured in a way that would alleviate a lot of concerns about these type of situations.

[formerdukeathlete]

As the Trustees must have believed in redemption in the case of DB, with his assurances that political correctness will never again get in the way of truth and decency, so should DB believe this may be possible in the case of Neuheisel. U Dub settled with Neuheisel either because they did not believe the allegations or because the allegations involved actions outside of his control.

According to Frank D, Joe Paterno called DB on his behalf. Now, what is the significance of this? Duke used to land good students who would have been the next kid offered at Penn State, who had met with Joe Pa. Joe Pa is Brown graduate - hey, so was Wallace Wade. The average SAT on the main campus at Penn State is about the same as Wake Forest. Joe Pa goes after some of the same kids Duke used to try to land (and landed in some cases) in PA, New Jersey, Ohio. It is quite nice that Joe Pa took the time out to call DB. Does this not mean that Duke Football is back on the map?

I say, if Neuheisel would take the job, we have to interview him and seriously consider him as a candidate.

[killerleft]

OK, I signed the petition. Why not interview him? Check his story, re-check the facts, make a decision about that. If he passes the test, then decide whether he is the man for the job. What's the problem?

[Bluedawg]

If you support Rick Neuheisel please sign the petition. I personally believe this is the guy for the job!

Neuheisel's crime, by contrast, seems rather prosaic. He took part in an NCAA tournament betting pool the past two years, albeit an unusually high-stakes one, in which he won about $12,000. NCAA coaches are expressly forbidden to wager on college sports, and, ergo, Neuheisel was fired.

The real crime, though, is not that Neuheisel was fired. It's that he was fired in such a way as to preserve his reputation. Here is a man so richly deserving of a pink slip that his dismissal on such minor grounds leaves a sour taste. It's sort of like nabbing Al Capone for tax evasion. They got the right guy for the wrong reason.

In four years at Washington, he had one great season in 2000, going 11-1 and winning the Rose Bowl. The other three years, Washington went a combined 22-15, including a 7-6 record this past fall with a talent-laden squad whose players openly questioned each others' dedication.

The Gambler; Rick Neuheisel got fired for the wrong reason.

NO, I do not want him...at all!