Jerry Neuheisel is leaving home to go work for someone familiar.
The longtime UCLA assistant who was born at the school’s medical center, played quarterback for the Bruins and rose to de facto offensive coordinator last season will rejoin former boss Chip Kelly in a new role at Northwestern.
Neuheisel has agreed to become the quarterbacks coach under Kelly, who will serve as the Wildcats’ offensive coordinator after being fired late last season from the same role with the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders.
Kelly has long been a mentor to Neuheisel, bringing him to UCLA as a graduate assistant in 2018 and promoting him to wide receivers coach in 2021. After Kelly left to become Ohio State’s offensive coordinator before the 2024 season, Neuheisel served as tight ends coach under coach DeShaun Foster. Neuheisel then took over as offensive coordinator four games into last season upon the departures of Foster and offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri.
The change helped spark a three-game midseason winning streak in which the Bruins upset then-No. 7 Penn State and averaged 33.3 points during victories over the Nittany Lions, Michigan State and Maryland.
Neuheisel, 33, was carried off the field after the Bruins beat Penn State in a scene reminiscent of the celebration after he came off the bench to lead UCLA to a road victory over Texas in 2014 by throwing a 33-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Payton.
After spending his final college season as a backup to Josh Rosen, Neuheisel played professionally for the Obic Seagulls of Japan’s X League in 2016. He started his coaching career in 2017 as an offensive quality control coach at Texas A&M before coming back to his alma mater the next year.
Having long said he dreamed of being the head coach at UCLA, Neuheisel’s latest move could be one more step toward another return.
