The little kid born at the UCLA Medical Center was destined for this moment, swept up in the celebration of an improbable victory.
Fortune favored him when he beat Texas as the Bruins’ backup quarterback in 2014. Now, it had followed him again.
In Jerry Neuheisel’s first game calling plays for UCLA, he had achieved the unimaginable by ushering in a 42-37 victory over No. 7 Penn State for the winless Bruins. His Bruins.
Neuheisel was bathed in blue Powerade as he was scooped towards the stands that chanted his name — the same bleachers he once rooted from as a kid while watching his dad execute calls for the Bruins.
Neuheisel was home, doing what he dreamed and he was thriving. That October day, he and UCLA appeared inseparable.
“I love UCLA more than anything,” he said at the time.
But just half a year later, Neuheisel has left Westwood and emerged in a new environment, joining Northwestern as the quarterbacks coach in January. He has arrived under recently-hired offensive coordinator Chip Kelly with a vision to assemble a potent offense that will take the Wildcats to new heights as the program readies to open the new $862 million Ryan Field.
While the winter kept Neuheisel mostly indoors, away from the mountains, beaches and travel destinations he loves, he’s adjusting well. He knows how to thrive in unfamiliar places, having grown up around the country, following his father’s professional and collegiate coaching career.
These days, Neuheisel has been scouring tape and considering ways to get the most out of his new quarterbacks. He expects Michigan State transfer Aidan Chiles, who he said has played in the “wrong offense” during his college career, to prosper.
Most importantly, though, Neuheisel is excited about being around “good people.” He said he enjoys bragging about how smart his players are. Back at UCLA, he used to tell everyone that his school was the No. 1 public university in the U.S., and now he gloats about coaching at a top-10 university overall.
“It’s been a breath of fresh air,” Neuheisel said. “This place is everything I thought it would be and more.”
He first took notice of Northwestern in September, when he coached on the opposite sidelines during UCLA’s 17-14 loss to the Wildcats. He remembers being on the bus to the game, looking around Evanston and snapping a couple of pictures to send to his wife. He told her he could see them living there.
But leaving UCLA meant that Neuheisel would leave all he knew.
Born for football
Neuheisel’s dad, Rick Neuheisel, was the wide receivers coach for UCLA when Jerry was born in 1992, after having played there as a quarterback a decade earlier.
Rick had to miss UCLA’s spring game for Jerry’s birth, but a group of his fellow coaches eventually joined him at the hospital to see his son.
“He was getting recruited from day one,” Rick said of his son.
Neuheisel’s mom, Susan Neuheisel, said she took her son straight from the hospital to the UCLA practice field to watch a session instead of going home. Perhaps that influenced Jerry, whose first word was ‘ball’ and his favorite TV show growing up was SportsCenter.
“He came into this world unlike any person I’ve ever known,” Susan said. “He’s always been kind of … a golden retriever. He brings passionate joy with him.”
As Jerry grew up, Rick took coaching jobs with Colorado, Washington and the Baltimore Ravens, so his family relocated frequently.
But through all of the changes — 11 different houses, nine schools and four states — football was the one constant in Jerry’s early years. Meanwhile, he learned how to easily connect with people.
“My favorite part of the year was in August, when you had 53 new friends,” Jerry said. “The first day of practice, I had a whole new team of friends.”
At each stop, UCLA never lost its influence.
When Jerry was just 3 years old, Rick coached Colorado to the 1996 Cotton Bowl. In the days leading up to the game, former Bruin and eventual Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman visited practice, and Jerry sat on his lap.
Jerry was exposed to numerous prominent football figures, like Aikman, and appreciated them more than some other kids might have. Despite being just 3 years old when he met Aikman, he knew who he was because he had already memorized the names of all 30 starting NFL quarterbacks.
Throughout Jerry’s childhood, he would hear Rick on recruiting calls so often in car rides that he said he could’ve handled one himself. He lauded his dad’s ability to recruit and understand players, and said he still uses some of his strategies today.
“I (was) more involved than most coaches’ kids are,” Jerry said, “and that probably just stemmed from that’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.”
Eventually, Jerry’s parents settled in Los Angeles for most of his high school years, where he attended the college-preparatory Loyola High School.
When Jerry played at Loyola, Rick had to relegate himself to the far end of the bleachers because he didn’t want to deal with other parents. His football knowledge was immense, but his so-called “dad goggles” were monumental.
Rick didn’t push Jerry too hard, even though he knew his son had a solid feel for football, because he didn’t want him to lose his love for the game. But when he showered his son with compliments, Jerry would ask why Rick didn’t point out clear deficiencies.
“He wanted to talk about things that needed to get better, which I think is a critical thing of coaching,” Rick said. “You can’t just think you know it all.”
Officially a Bruin
Rick brought Jerry to UCLA in 2011 under a “grayshirt,” meaning he didn’t have a scholarship in the fall. Although he’d watch practice and acclimate to the team, he wouldn’t participate until later in the school year.
But that fall, Rick was fired amid poor team performance, leaving Jerry’s spot in jeopardy.
Rick said he told new coach Jim Mora he didn’t have to keep his son on the team, recognizing the value of scholarship slots. But Mora wanted to see what the kid had in him.
While Jerry didn’t play much for UCLA, he was devoted to the program as a backup for three seasons, and he came through when called upon.
In a 2014 game against Texas, he put together an iconic moment with the Bruins when he came in for quarterback Brett Hundley, who had suffered an elbow injury in the first quarter.
That day at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Jerry threw two touchdown passes, including a go-ahead 33-yarder in a 20-17 victory, to lead UCLA to a 3-0 start. After the game, his teammates picked him up off the field, elevating him into icon status as he was recognized throughout Westwood.
Jerry loved UCLA so much that when quarterback Josh Rosen — an eventual first-round NFL Draft pick — won the starting spot over him, he couldn’t stomach transferring to another university. So, he left behind a year of eligibility and went to play for the Obic Seagulls of Japan’s X League.
“I couldn’t imagine playing anywhere else,” he said of UCLA.
Finding his footing
Jerry expected his stint with the Seagulls to be his last hurrah in football, but he ended up planting the foundational seeds for his coaching career.
As he learned to holler the pre-snap cadence in Japanese instead of shouting “Blue 42,” he also coached the quarterback room, which included himself. His teammates made nowhere close to NFL money, he said, but seeing their passion helped him remember his football ambitions.
“Some kids dream about making the throw,” Jerry said. “I always dreamed about making the call.”
Just a year later, in 2017, Noel Mazzone, the offensive coordinator at Texas A&M, called him and offered him a job. Jerry, who played under Mazzone at UCLA, was on the next flight to College Station, Texas, to become an offensive quality control coach.
That season, Jerry ended up on the opposite sideline as UCLA stunned Texas A&M with a 31-point comeback in a 45-44 win at the Rose Bowl. Conflicted, he looked across the field, overjoyed for his former teammates.
After the game, Jerry found a quick moment to whisper to Rosen that he was proud of the Bruins.
“I was so happy for those guys,” Jerry said, “and then the reality sets in that you’re coaching a bunch of guys who are now going through heartbreak, and we got to get them back up and go play.”
Texas A&M regrouped from the opening loss and finished the season with a 7-6 record, but it wasn’t enough to keep his or Mazzone’s jobs. Still, Jerry said that year launched his coaching career and his relationship with Mazzone, who he said is his “football dad.”
The Texas A&M job showed Jerry the realities of the college football coaching lifestyle, Rick said, even if he had an idea of what it looked like by observing his dad’s work. The program’s belief in Jerry as a young coach was vital for him, Rick added.
“He needed somebody to want him,” Rick said, “and it was a big-time program.”
Back in blue and gold
As Jerry sought his next coaching opportunity, he recalled a time when Chip Kelly visited Texas A&M’s practice and observed the coaching staff’s meetings for a couple of days. He didn’t even know if Kelly, who had just landed the UCLA job, remembered their encounters that week, so he was nervous to call him.
But with some encouragement from his wife, Jerry gave him a ring.
Kelly didn’t pick up the first time, so Jerry left a voicemail about how he thought he’d be an excellent fit at UCLA. Soon after, Kelly called back and told him he would be hired as a graduate assistant.
“Never in a million years would I have thought I would have gotten hired on that staff,” Jerry said.
Jerry arrived at his dream school with ripe ambition in 2018. He owed UCLA a Rose Bowl, according to the Los Angeles Times, a promise he had made to his grandfather.
Originally, Jerry had expected to be at UCLA for just a year or two as a graduate assistant, but around the time the COVID-19 pandemic began, he was promoted to coach the wide receivers. Over time, he made his influence felt and built trust with Kelly and his staff. He even led the tight end room in 2024.
“The amount of growth and the things we did,” Jerry said, “I owe everything to (Kelly).”
Jerry withstood two coaching changes during his time at UCLA, including Kelly’s departure in 2024, but he said he “loved every bit of” his experience there. He learned to coach the same people who would’ve been his teammates not too long ago, earning their respect while also building relationships.
In 2022, Jerry coached now-Seattle Seahawks receiver Jake Bobo to an 817-yard, seven-touchdown season. In 2024, tight end Moliki Matavao led the Bruins with 506 receiving yards and 41 receptions under Neuheisel’s guidance.
Receiver Logan Loya, who played for UCLA between 2020 and 2024 before transferring to Minnesota to finish his collegiate career, thought of Jerry as the guy who “knew everything” about UCLA.
“You (could) literally ask any question, any random question, any fact you want to know about the place, and he (would) most likely have it for you,” Loya said.
Loya came to UCLA following the footsteps of slot receiver Kyle Philips — who led the Pac-12 with 10 receiving touchdowns under Jerry in 2021 — and broke out for 655 yards and five touchdowns in his redshirt junior season.
Loya appreciated how Jerry provided a quarterback’s perspective to the wide receiver room, but it was his upbeat demeanor that stood out the most to him. Jerry never stopped smiling and would always be there to brighten a player’s day when they were feeling down, Loya said.
Jerry said his positivity comes from his nomadic childhood. He said his favorite part of playing quarterback was celebrating with different players after scoring touchdowns. The joy of watching other people thrive and helping them get there, he said, pushed him towards coaching.
“There is nothing like this game,” Jerry said. “It is the greatest thing I’ve ever been a part of, and it’s probably the only thing I’ve truly ever understood in my life.”
Making his mark
In 2025, Jerry was elevated to interim offensive coordinator under interim coach Tim Skipper, after the firing of DeShaun Foster amid an 0-3 start.
After Skipper’s squad lost to Northwestern in his first week as coach, he passed the reins to Jerry to call plays against then-No. 7 Penn State.
When Rick caught wind of the change, he called his son and offered only one suggestion.
“The only advice I’m gonna give you is practice your post-game victory speech,” Rick said, “because it need(s) to be about thanking everybody else.”
But even Rick wouldn’t believe what happened as Jerry’s Bruins dismantled Penn State 42-37. They led by as much as 20 points, compiling 435 yards of offense and nearly 40 minutes of possession in the stunning victory.
Jerry said the win against Penn State was a product of work from “a lot of good people,” and the entire team and staff had tremendous belief in each other. He still doesn’t want to take credit for the victory, even though he appeared to light a fire under the offense while calling plays.
“It was just one of those days where you just fall back in love with college football,” he said, “because that’s how special it can be.”
Rick watched from the CBS Sports studio, where he works as an analyst, joining the game’s broadcast to talk through a drive. Before he knew it, Jerry was dialing up an over eight-minute, 75-yard, 17-play drive to put the Bruins ahead 17-7 in the second quarter.
Later, a clip of Rick reacting to a UCLA fourth-quarter touchdown went viral, though he said he wasn’t aware he was on-camera.
“Just euphoria,” Rick said of the moment. “It was too good. It was dad goggles, 20/20 vision.”
The entire year wasn’t “euphoria” for Jerry and the Bruins, though.
After UCLA rattled off two straight victories against Michigan State and Maryland following the marquee victory, the team never won again, finishing the season with five straight losses for a 3-9 record.
Despite the challenging run, Rick said the losing weeks might have been more beneficial for Jerry’s growth as a coach than the winning ones.
“There are a lot of coaches out there that believe in only one system,” Rick said, “(but) great coaches can adapt the system to the personnel … And therein lies what Jerry was exposed to, and it’s going to be incredibly valuable for him down the road.”
Building a new future in Evanston
UCLA hired former James Madison coach Bob Chesney soon after the season, and Jerry was on his way out. He properly visited Northwestern after taking a liking to it in the fall, confirming his desire to move to Evanston.
Jerry had opportunities to leave Westwood earlier during his eight years there, but he said he feels he left at the right time, with the best interests of his coaching career in mind.
The Walter Athletics Center impressed Jerry, and he’s excited about the new Ryan Field. On the field, he has bought into coach David Braun’s vision of challenging for the Big Ten Championship every season.
“When you get here, and you see the facility, and you see the people that are working here, and you see the stadium that’s being built, and all the things going into it, you can kind of see what the vision of the program is,” Jerry said. “The sky is really the limit.”
He said he believes in the program’s goals because of its recently elite defense. In 2025, the Wildcats’ defense ranked sixth in opponent points per game, but its offense ranked 14th in points per game, resulting in a 6-6 regular-season record.
The opportunity to turn around an offense led by Kelly, under whom Jerry blossomed at UCLA, made him believe he could make a meaningful impact.
“Jerry’s one of the rising stars in this profession,” Kelly said in his introductory Northwestern press conference. “He’s everything you’re looking for in a coach.”
Jerry said he’s been “in awe” of the culture Braun has set into motion, and he wants to help take the program to the next level. He added that he has been blown away by the way Braun connects with players, balancing the responsibilities of coaching with serving as a support system.
Neuheisel feels it’s a “full circle” moment to be coaching Chiles, a dual-threat quarterback whom he said he watched at the public Downey High School in Downey, California.
While Northwestern’s schedule is difficult, including road games against the previous two national champions, Indiana and Ohio State, and the 2026 College Football Playoff semifinalist Oregon, Jerry said he is not worried about the squad the team will face.
After all, the Big Ten is always punishing.
“What do you come to college football for,” he said, “if not to play in games like this and stadiums like this?”
Jerry doesn’t have a specific game that he is looking forward to; he said he’s excited for all of them. He is eager to learn the “Go! U Northwestern” fight song, navigate a new school culture and explore all of the other Wildcat traditions.
It’s been almost a decade since Jerry was anywhere other than UCLA, where he probably could’ve recited the “Eight-Clap” cheer in his sleep. While he still owes Westwood, which will always be “home” for him, a Rose Bowl victory, he said he is focused on taking things one day at a time in Evanston.
“It’s one of those pieces that is part of your story that you are just so thankful that you got to write,” Jerry said, “and now you’re just excited to write the next chapter.”
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