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Brothers and Coaches -- at Home at Their Alma Maters
| A pair of Sigma Nu Brothers, UCLA's head football coach Rick Neuheisel (UCLA) and Al Groh (Virginia), head football coach at UVa, took time out of their schedules to talk with us during a bye week this fall. Their coaching careers have taken both men across the country and back again, landing them where they are today on the same campuses where they first played college football. Both teams closed out the season without the hoped-for bowl game appearance, but Coaches Neuheisel and Groh remain committed to tackling the challenges ahead and leading the young men in their charge who stand to benefit from a man who doesn't let mistakes or defeat stand in the way of progress. |
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Both men began their playing careers at their alma mater: Groh as defensive end at UVA from 1963-1965 and Neuheisel, almost two decades later, as quarterback for the UCLA Bruins from 1980-1983. Neuheisel's claim to fame is leading the Bruins to a 45-9 victory over Illinois in the 1984 Rose Bowl where he was named the game's most valuable player.
Their teams have struggled this year with UCLA closing out the season against rival USC* on December 6th, while UVa's season ended the week prior with a loss to Virginia Tech resulting in a 5-7 record. Neither team will compete in a bowl game.
This marks the end of Groh's eighth season since his return to UVa; he still has three years remaining on his contract. While Charlottesville feels very much like home to him and his wife, he says the decision to come back to his alma mater wasn't sentimental but rather professional. "This is a very competitive, achievement-oriented way of life. Most coaches are looking for the set of circumstances where they think the odds are good for achievement," says Groh, who was head coach for the NY Jets when he got the offer to return to UVa in 2000. "This was the only college coaching job I would have left the New York Jets for," he asserts.
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Back on campus just short of a year, Neuheisel's had his share of challenges during his coaching career, but it hasn't affected his confidence or his positive attitude. He's optimistic to the point that he describes himself as "relentlessly positive." Shortly after he was hired, Neuheisel coined the term "passion bucket" to describe the energy and spirit with which he would tackle the rebuilding of the UCLA team. "It's terrific to be back," he exclaims.
Both have experience coaching in the NFL, and they recognize a different level of |
responsibility that comes with coaching a college team. "It requires a lot of involvement and supervision, and there's a lot more 24-hour-a-day interaction with the players. They are a greater part of my overall life, and I'm a greater part of theirs," explains Groh. "Knowing what it takes to create the unity of commitment to goals and to each other is a major part of being a coach, and a major part of being on a team. Fortunately for me, being part of a team has been a big part of my life, not just a college experience," shares Groh.
Reflecting back to his collegiate days, Neuheisel says being in the Fraternity was a great experience and an important part of college. He lived in the chapter house for three years and met all of his best friends in Sigma Nu--relationships that are still intact today. Neuheisel also joined the UCLA football fraternity, a rarity since the two groups usually didn't mix. "They were more like oil and water," he recalls. But interactions between the football players and the Sigma Nus became more frequent with Neuheisel as the common denominator. As the men bonded and built social relationships, they gained a mutual respect for one another. "When I come back for football reunions or gather with my Sigma Nu Brothers, the conversation eventually turns to how we had such a great time when the football guys came to the Sigma Nu house. It was an intersection that was good for all of us," he shares.
Likewise, Groh's prevailing college memories include being part of a team and the teammates who were there with him. "To be part of a 100-member team is a unique and terrific experience that very few people have," says Groh. But unlike Neuheisel's experience at UCLA, the UVa football team had in excess of 30 Sigma Nus on its roster while Groh was there. His teammates initially drew him to the Fraternity. "They were already brothers. We were living together, working and competing together, and playing together; that atmosphere of brotherhood followed us wherever we went all day long," he shares.
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Sigma Nu's ideals of Love, Honor, and Truth have grown in meaning for both men since their college days. "While we didn't talk about it on a daily basis when we were 20 years old, I think everyone realizes today what a special time that was in our lives, to get to hang out with people who also understood there's more to life than just having a good time," Neuheisel remarks.
Groh carries similar ideals into his coaching. "The coach has to be a unifier. It's the most important function," he explains. And he believes that unity is built on three circumstances: respect, trust, and communicating with truth. "In our organization we say that we GIVE RESPECT unequivocally and in all circumstances, because any form of disrespect is fracturing. We EARN TRUST on a daily basis; and we always have to communicate and COMMUNICATE WITH TRUTH," Groh explains.
Groh has had the opportunity to observe and work under some of the very best coaches in the profession like Bill Belichick and Bill Parcels. While he considers himself fortunate to have had those associations, he still believes in the importance of working out his own style and way of doing things. He'll read what other coaches are saying about their teams and their circumstances or maybe borrow a phrase he likes. An idea might be sparked by what he observes in others, but eventually, he says, "It just has to become your own."
Thirty years of leading such a public life has provided Groh the opportunity to share what he's learned through speaking engagements at organizations across the state and the region. He says his audiences invite him to speak--not about football plays, but instead--about leadership, team-building, achievement, and motivation. So he shares his opinion that leadership, like coaching, has its own special style, depending on the person. "There are principles you have to adhere to, but everyone's got to develop their own style. You have to spend time thinking about those who are looking to you for direction. Everyone is head coach of something, whether you're a supervisor, president, or pastor. Even a parent is the head coach of the family, and the same elements are necessary to create a feeling of family, team, and camaraderie," he shares.
Rick Neuheisel #10 – UCLA Quarterback, 1980-83 |
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Neuheisel has developed a style of his own. He says his mantra is, "Energy + Execution = Victory!" He strives to make sure those young men bring great passion to what they do while realizing how important the details are with respect to the execution. "I want everyone on the team to understand what we are trying to achieve as a group and why it's so important. I also want them to realize how precious these times are, and I try to incorporate that into the way I lead the team," he shares.
In a recent interview, Neuheisel commented that his team has been bit by the "turnover bug," but he's not letting it ruin his passion for the game or his optimism about the team. He's honest about their existing challenges and those that lie ahead. "Expectations are high for every program at UCLA. We have a young, inexperienced team that's been through several coaches. It may take awhile for everything to take |
hold," he says. Still, he maintains a positive attitude and a challenging, almost fatherly, perspective toward his players and his role in helping young men develop their talents.
While they've had some disappointing losses this season, Neuheisel is still excited to be back. "I've missed college football," he says, having been away since he was let go by the University of Washington in 2003. He's back in the game now with a renewed excitement about his role in the lives of these young men and as a part of the historical football program at UCLA. "To be able to come back to college football and have it be at my alma mater is definitely icing on the cake," he says. Even through their growing pains, Neuheisel is optimistic about the opportunity to build the Bruins' program back to prominence and says they will continue to work hard, try to win as many as they can, and keep an eye toward the future.
* Results of the UCLA / USC game will have been decided by the time this article is published.
Photos courtesy of Virginia Media Relations and ASUCLA Photographic Studios. |
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