I was encouraged to read in yesterday’s newspaper that Rick Neuheisel decided to take responsibility for failing to communicate that he wanted his punter to kick the ball out of bounds, resulting in an 85-yard return for a “Momentum-swinging touchdown” right before halftime. This is the first public act of humility any of us have seen from him during his career. As recently as a few weeks ago he was quoted as saying if he gets fired he’ll be fine and just get another job; not exactly the type of comment that endears you to people.

Perhaps the positive reaction he received from his team for his taking responsibility will help him learn the facets of leadership he never embodied before. One of the worst things that can happen to a young upstart in any vocation is having too much success before you are ready. I still remember what a successful college and NFL head coach told me at the time when I him asked about Rick Neuheisel’s great success in his first year as a head coach at the University of Colorado: “Too much, too soon, too easily.”

I was enamored with Neuheisel back then, and too young and inexperienced to fully comprehend what he meant by that. I even remember thinking he was crazy, and that Neuheisel’s future was brighter than any other coach in the game. I must admit now that his analysis was spot on and mine was wrong. Now I fully understand the wisdom in his words and have seen it play out repeatedly in all areas of life since that day.

The problem is that when things come to people too soon they miss out on learning a lot of the important steps necessary to get and stay where they have ascended so quickly. This creates the illusion (in their minds) of having knowledge of things they are often completely ignorant of. The early struggles are often what teach you the most important lessons going forward.

For example, I have been both impressed and encouraged by the amazing start to Cam Newton’s pro football career. He’s the first rookie ever to throw for over 400-yards in his first two games and he led his team to victory in near hurricane conditions yesterday. No one knows what the future holds for Cam Newton, but there’s a part of me that wonders whether it would have been better for him to have struggled more initially? Time will tell.

I have no doubt that Rick Neuheisel has more than enough football knowledge to be a great coach or strategist. The problem in my estimation is that he had success so quickly that he attributed his success (in his mind) to the very characteristics that are now bringing him down; specifically his charm and craftiness. The consensus of the people I know who have been associated with Neuheisel has always been that his biggest problem is that, like most teenagers, he thinks he’s the smartest person in any room he walks into. So like most teenagers he fails to realize that there are a lot more important ingredients in success than intelligence.

I’ve personally met and even spent some time with Neuheisel on several occasions and he is an expert at coming across as though he’s genuinely interested in you and making a great first impression. The problem is that long before the tenth or eleventh time he excitedly introduces himself to you, even an idiot can tell that it’s not about you, it’s about him and the impression he is making. He’s a classic example of a person who has everything in the world going for him, but can’t get out of his own way.

His showing of humility this past weekend is encouraging, but sadly probably too little too late. Regrettably, Rick never took the time to objectively look at himself to see how other people view him, and take it as an opportunity to better himself. Had he done this before taking the UCLA job he may very well have achieved what he dearly hoped to at his Alma mater.

Posted in The Mind Side Blog