Is Rick Neuheisel Too Soft?
by uclahy on Dec 16, 2009 5:48 AM PST
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PrintBumped. This is an uncomfortable question but we can't be afraid to discuss it. The "over the wall" episode puts Neuheisel's ability to lead our program in question. For better or worse Neuheisel did come into Westwood with a reputation of having mentally soft teams. The way the latest incident transpired doesn't make it look good. Neuheisel is doing everything he can to generate excitement around our program and he has injected incredible amount of energy in recruiting. However, if the Bruins choke against Temple on December 29th due to mental mistakes (we have seen this season), the over wall incident will turn out to be a huge strike against CRN, just like the Wyoming became one for Karl Dorrell. GO BRUINS. - N
Photo Credit: dabruins07 (flickr)
The prank of going over the wall and CRN's response to it may be symptomatic of a larger problem.
The coach sets the tone, the attitude, the standards, the mindset. It sounds like he's set a soft tone with this little prank. This is IIRC one of the complaints against him at his former college coaching gigs.
One might argue this is just one minor incident or that such pranks and foolishness are sometimes appropriate, understandable comic relief for team members blowing off steam.
But it does make one wonder. Can you imagine Coach JW or Red Sanders or Tommy Prothro or CBH allowing an entire team to miss an entire practice? And then saying it was okay? Maybe they did and I just don't know. I sincerely doubt it.
Is this why we have so many d**n penalties? Is this why some players had a deer in the headlights look for the SUC game? Is CRN developing warriors or something less? What's your opinion out there? Food for thought.
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.
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i get
that he sounds soft to us, but what good would it do to put your team on blast in front of the media? So guys like simers and plashke can bring up how the team is in turmoil, call out CRN for acting childish, throwing his team under the buss…i feel they would use that opportunity to make a buck off another horrible article.
I just hope that the comments he is making to the media isnt what he is telling the team, and that he works them for this. Every action has a consequence, this should be no different.
i agree with 34
There is no upside to Coach Neuheisel’s blasting the team to the press. This sounds like it calls for a very calm, very soft-voiced a** chewing. I got one of those in the army once, and it scared me worse than all the ones with the Drill Sergeant sticking his nose in your face and screaming.
No way on the press....
Complete internal matter, I hope they are doing wind sprints or other forms of legal torture right now. The press is already considering our program a sham not noting any signs of improvement. For recruiting sake, internal and Temple is a must win.
Also, not just a must win, a CLEAN game with focus and lack needless penalties. We’re going to this game to put on a show and audition our “new” program to the nation. Not sure how the ratings will be, but you bet recruits and families are watcing.
I'm not suggesting CRN chew out his guys in public.
My point is whether or not he has instilled the necessary discipline to encourage a warrior attitude as opposed to a soft, let me be a popular player’s coach attitude that does not do so.
I just don’t see players under the coaches I named doing this kind of thing. It would never enter their head because of the focus and discipline. And I just wonder if this is why the team has had so many penalties and inconsistent moments this year.
We have not really looked crisp on either side of the ball all year.
You don’t have to embarrass your guys in the press to be disciplined. I was in the Army three years and went to OCS. It’s leadership. It’s standards. It’s consequences. It’s team first. It’s discipline, attention to detail and, above all, the right attitude.
So that’s my question. Does CRN have it? Or does he need to instill it yet?
Ask KC or his Dad if RN Is Soft
For more than a year we’ve seen him act like Fox’s Drill Sergeant.
I tend to agree with those who want to watch what he does, with the team, more than the words he uses with the press.
sjh
Soft?
Naw…..no way. I agree with earlier post. I’m sure it was a different tone in the locker room. We’re picking berries here.
by LouisianaBruins on Dec 16, 2009 6:47 AM PST reply actions
Just issuing a different "tone" in locker room is not enough
Will there be consequences in the practice field? Will we see a focused and disciplined effort in DC? Actions will speak louder than words.
IMO
Digging for this stuff is kind of strange… I understand how it distracts you from practice or makes you seem like a joke but the bottom line of criticizing Neuheisel because he didn’t chew his players out, go back on his word (no matter how rediculous it is) can put a bad spin on recruiting.
Unfortunately, the whole incident of “jumping” puts a bad spin on recruiting, so the UCLA fan of current state should be praising Neuheisel for not digging the players any more graves
Back in business
by ucla13_usc9 on Dec 16, 2009 7:28 AM PST via mobile reply actions
What?
Then what should we do? it’s not mindless if you show just cause. There is a difference between criticizing and muckracking
Back in business
by ucla13_usc9 on Dec 16, 2009 7:34 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
Not sure WTF are you talking about
Neuheisel and his seniors screwed up. There was no just cause. The just cause offered up is laughable, pathetic, and weak. We are not going to be blind homers and accept that explanation. If you are looking for a blog where we will be constantly pimping sunshine up everyone’s rear ends without being honest with ourselves, this is not the place. You can go somewhere else to recruit for Neuheisel if that is what we are looking for.
If Neuheisel gets past this and does put together a team that comes out firing on all cylinders in DC, then this will not become a bigger deal. If he fails, this will stay with him and will be in the back of our minds next year. If it hurts him in recruiting, then so be it. It’s not our problem.
That last comment was bad wording
I think that we should be more concerned with how the players have not jumped through the hoop, in the sense that they should be concerned about their subordinate’s future.
When Carrol and Presley and Knox were suspended, did we call him soft? No.
If Neuheisel gets past this and does put together a team that comes out firing on all cylinders in DC, then this will not become a bigger deal. If he fails, this will stay with him and will be in the back of our minds next year. If it hurts him in recruiting, then so be it. It’s not our problem.
I cannot agree more, but leave his reactions amongst the press out of it because all you need to do is rewind to September 19 to see the results
Back in business
I hope Neuehisel pulls out all the stops during practices
to win in DC. Yesterday made December 29th a MUST WIN game for him. End of story.
Gonna have to go with the crowd on this one
I’m as upset that they pulled this crap and that CRN didn’t make it clear that this wouldn’t be tolerated, but as far as being “soft” I’m going to judge that with on the field performance, and while we have had plenty of unnecessary penalties this year which do speak to coaching (at least where the seniors are concerned), we also haven’t displayed the tendency of previous Bruin teams to simply roll over when the going gets tough, which is something I credit CRN with and hardly suggests a “soft” mentality. As usual, I’m inclined to disagree with uclahy because of his tendency to overreach on his statements.
Agreed, not indicative of 'soft'...
but more of a complete lack of communication. CRN must set expectations more clearly so that the team progresses ‘together’ towards a winning tradition. Top priority maybe should be the team, as a whole, then getting better everyday through practice. Neither of which were considered while the players took the ‘day off’.
CRN made a mistake by saying that they could do this if they made it to a bowl game. That left the door open for these kids and allowed them to fall back into the rut of mediocre thinking.
I have commented before that the fact the players
have left it all out on the field is one of the signs of good coaching by CRN. But I’m still waiting to see the signs of a disciplined team on either side of the ball.
I’m just asking the question. i’ve made it clear before that we can’t judge CRN’s overall performance until he’s recruited four years of his own players.
A Suggestion
This is a terrible tradition, and makes UCLA a laughingstock in front of local recruits. What sort of program allows its players to skip a much-needed practice that can pay dividends not just in the bowl game, but next year, as well?
So let me suggest a new ‘Over the Wall’ tradition at UCLA: Instead of the players going over the wall, have the coaches go. The seniors will be coaches for the day, and will be responsible for planning and running practice. They could even appoint a “head coach”, coordinators, position coaches, etc. This provides the seniors a chance to try out coaching, and would be a token of the coaches’ appreciation for their four (or five) years at UCLA. The team would also increase its camaraderie and self-motivation as they get by for a day without coaches. And while the seniors wouldn’t practice that day, as anyone who has done it can attest, the best way to learn something well is to try to teach it to others. This tradition would then go from being a demerit with recruits to a program selling point.
Great idea
Too bad this idea wasn’t instituted this year. Craft would probably have a field day with it.
This is a player prank on the coaches
not the other way around, and Neuheisel is apparently complicit on continuing this “tradition”. Let’s try this idea: abolish it altogether and send a message to the players and the fan base that in the relentless pursuit of greatness, a team cannot afford to take a day off. Period. That’s a better selling point to recruits.
"I don't forget very much" Rick Neuheisel, 11/28/09
Tradition?
How the f**k did this become our tradition? Can’t they figure a better prank to pull? Did this whole thing start under Terry D., who probably went to take a nap after the wall was jumped?
Then it's not a "tradition"
Traditions go back many years and usually embrace positive values that are reinforced and honored by the celebration of the symbolic event.
sjh
by Class of 66 on Dec 16, 2009 11:45 AM PST up reply actions
As I've stated elsewhere
this wasn’t even a prank, because it’s not fucking funny, and the only ones looking like idiots are the players.
Just an excuse to be lazy.
So, to get back at them, CRN better give them a monster practice. Puke sprints were suggested and I like it.
I think CRN is kind of between a rock and a hard place, I can’t blame him for reacting the way he did, as he unwillingly set the stage for this. However, I would like to see him voice a loud displeasure with having to miss practice time and give those misguided pranksters an ass chewing they won’t forget, with his veins and eyes popping out, like he kept giving to KC last year.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
I think
Calling Neuheisel soft because of this and his words the press is an overreaction. For the entirety of his tenure, Rick has made a habit of spewing lawyer speak and talking out of the side of his mouth. I put very little stock in what he says to members of the press. And that’s great, I think it works in LA, competing against Ol’ Petey.
I also think this is an overreaction in general. Skipping one practice in Bowl season is not that big of a deal. It really isn’t. Certainly, players can use all the practice they can get, and maybe personally I wouldn’t want to skip a practice, but Neuheisel has made it exceedingly clear that this is a reward. If anyone remembers, the seniors nixed this over “the wall” prank when it was scheduled to occur during spring practice. Now we have achieved our goal for the season, the seniors are going to be leaving… I don’t think this is really a problem at all. Certainly, the next practice better be intense, and likely it will be. And if it’s not up to par, remember there is a scheduled day off which he could change if he doesn’t like what he sees.
In a larger philosophical sense, I don’t see Rick as a strict disciplinarian. I also don’t think he needs to be. He enjoyed success that was cut short at his previous programs, so before we jump to calling him soft, let’s give him a chance to show that he gets the job done in his style.
by Captain Leebeard on Dec 16, 2009 2:48 PM PST reply actions
Agree
CRN is in the mold of a “Players’ Coach”. The strict disciplinarians are a dying breed. IMO, CBH is in the mode of a stubborn strict disciplinarian and I think that’s part of the problem with the team. Again, I say PART of the problem, I’m not saying it’s the whole problem, so please don’t rake me over the coals for saying this.
Please stop all the holier-than-thou whining
Jeez – how many of you have gone through a single practice at the D1 level?
Do you have any concept as to how hard these kids work day in and day out? All of them bust their behinds all year long – even bad teams work their tails off at a level that 99.9% of you could never approach.
Do you guys have a clue what these kids (and let me please stress the “kids” part) go through with Coach Linn 5 or more times per week during the off-season?
How many of you have ever been busted up for three straight weeks of spring ball, then had to pull yourself together enough to write a paper and study for back-to-back exams?
If going over the wall makes them feel better about the team and each other, if it gives them some tiny measure of “control” over their lives that are otherwise almost completely in someone elses control, if they feel like they’re giving it to “the man” because they’ve ruined one practice before a completely meaningless bowl game, then so be it.
If I remember correctly (and I could be wrong) it was Kenny Easley who started the walling tradition. He was quite the soft player, wasn’t he.
Do you guys have a clue what these kids (and let me please stress the "kids" part) go through with Coach Linn 5 or more times per week during the off-season
I don’t care about that, they need to be on the practice field, whether they have stress or not they are nothing to write home about, and that is a blunt fact.
completely meaningless bowl gameyou need to read up around here pal, and there are about 65 players who are going to school for free who only signed up for this to play football and saying that their interest is worthless and meaningless is insulting to the school, the team, and to me, who is forking over the dough to get to this game.
You are completely entitled to an opinion, but I don’t want you to insult the team
Back in business
One thing they don't stress about, Ducky, is paying for school
That caused me just a tad of stress. I also seem to recall that the football team is voluntary. They could have declined the scholarship. I think the “over the wall” non-tradition tradition is inexcuseable. I don’t think it has anything to do with the difficulty of a practice or any of the other things you mentioned. It was their idea of a joke that fell flat, like many jokes that teenagers think are hilarious but which in fact are not. At some point a grown up has to step in and say it not funny, it’s not a joke, it’s not a tradition and enough’s enough.
Ummm...actually yes.
We had two practices a day on the rowing team. None of us were on scholarship. Missing practice meant not being in the boat. Studying was not an excuse. Our gym was a smelly disgusting pit in the back of Drake Stadium under the bleachers. And we had to pay to be athletes.
So please, I don’t need to hear about how “tough” these guys have it when they get to take classes like “Music 32: The Art Of Listening” and Physics for Poets (aka Physics 10 as it was called at the time).
If it was a good team that did this, it would be another matter. These guys weren’t good, they were average.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Agreed with DuckyDrake
And I would not necessarily put blame on Neuheisel on this. Even if CRN was supposed to be pissed, and was supposed to discipline the team for ditching, how would he do so: kick them off the team, don’t go to the bowl game, fine them, give them a long b****ing out session, confine them to quarters for the bowl game, make them run 500 laps? Pretty much any discipline he imposed would be probably be considered excessive, petty, or paternalistic. If that is the case, would it not be better to play things down?
These aren’t “kids”, these are adults who have the right to choose what they want to do, and get the full consequences of their actions. If you were UCLA’s head coach, what would you have done if this happened? What would the consequences be?
If they are adults
They should be in the pros.
Discipline is something that you learn in high school, then are tested, an most often, RETAUGHT in college. But that teaching is coming from federal or state employees known as policemen and the FBI. The only real exception is a coach.
They signed up to be taught how to block, tackle, throw, catch, and if they perform well, they get payed through education, experience and opportunity. You are supposed to be a parent as a coach, you are supposed to be corporal about what you do and follow through on what you state.
While the "tradition" is stupid and sets a poor message, Neuheisel knew the consequences of his word, and most likely sure that he wouldn’t lose practice time in the process… he didn’t, there are no repercussions as of right now because according to reliable sources, the team is back on track and performing just as intense as before.
Let them go home if they are adults. Adults can opt out of learning, they can opt out of taxes, they can opt out of going to school, but the bottom line is that they sacrificed those benefits to play a sport that they love. Let them run around with them heads cut off, and guess what, they all came back! Isn’t that strange?
As for the discipline, the discipline will be in the shroud of a mad Nestor and Co., and the bitter taste of defeat (which may or not be condoned in the UCLA program) at the hands of Cosby U. and that is what he decided
Back in business
Nothing wrong with a little fun
They have plenty of time to get ready for that game-13 days. But I understand your underlying concern for the culture and tolerating a carefree, undisciplined and mutinous move like this. Though, I’m sure Neuheisel sees a camaraderie building aspect of everyone doing it in concert. And a little fun is probably good for the spirit of the team. This is a fun time of the year to celebrate a bowl and I’m sure Neu is confident they are mature enough to get back on track and give him what he wants on the field as good practice. If he doesn’t see what he’s looking for in practice and they flake at practice, and he doesn’t react accordingly, then that’s another thing.
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