The Gulf Stream Jet, arranged by UCLA officials, was on the tarmac early in the morning Monday at Burbank Airport.
Rick Neuheisel sat in the cabin with his family, parents and one sister. As the airplane came to a stop, his father, Dick, said simply, "Welcome home."
The moment marked the end of Neuheisel's extended round-trip journey to and from UCLA.
But that moment has passed, and now comes a rougher landing and the home improvements.
Neuheisel, officially introduced as UCLA's new football coach at an on-campus news conference Monday afternoon, inherits a program that has meandered the last five seasons, neither bottoming out nor reaching the desired peaks. Neuheisel, who previously coached at Colorado and Washington, was glib and engaging, at one point introducing his parents, Dick and Jane, then adding, "I was this close to being named Spot." Yet, he noted that he was going to, "fight, scratch and claw" to get UCLA "back to prominence on the national scene."
There is immediate work necessary on that front.
Neuheisel met with assistant coaches Monday, including defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker, who he is wooing to stay. That was followed by a session with prominent donors to the athletic program. The meat of the work comes this week, as he tries to stabilize recruiting that has teetered since Karl Dorrell was fired on Dec. 3.
"There is a lot on the horizon and a lot of decisions to be made," said Neuheisel, who flew coast-to-coast after finishing his duties as the Baltimore Ravens' offensive coordinator Sunday, getting out just before the ax fell on head coach Brian Billick and his staff.
"I have a sense of calm about this. I'm not sure why . . . I'm crazy?" Neuheisel added. "But I have a sense of calm because I've done it before. I've been to Colorado and Washington where we had to start new programs."
Those previous jobs ended in NCAA turmoil. Colorado went on two years' probation for recruiting violations. Neuheisel was fired at Washington for participating in a NCAA basketball betting pool. He later received a $4.5-million wrongful termination settlement.
But Neuheisel has said he has matured and learned from past mistakes, and was able to use those painful moments to get a laugh with self-deprecating humor. Asked when he will talk to UCLA recruits who have verbally committed, Neuheisel said, "You'll be impressed that I know these rules," then launched into a by-the-book outline of his next two weeks.
