Neuheisel wins more than just $4.5 million in settlement

Rick Neuheisel began shamelessly hawking the product shortly after emerging from court on Monday.

The product? Himself.

Rick Neuheisel hopes his sons will see him coach again at the collegiate level. (AP)

Ricky the Litigant is on the fast track to becoming Ricky the Coach again. Even if, for now, he's the only one doing the fast-tracking.

The man of wealth and privilege took on the establishment and, short of winning, at least regained his status as a man of wealth and privilege. Neuheisel gladly accepted a $4.5 million settlement in his lawsuit against the University of Washington and the NCAA.

The courtroom might have seen the slickest Rick ever. You have to admire a guy who risked his career to wage a protracted, ugly, sordid legal battle against a couple of monoliths. So don't be surprised that shortly after the gavel pounded a last time Neuheisel was subtly lobbying to get back into college football. Soon.

"I hope I have the opportunity," he said.

That answers the "would he?" with an emphatic, yes, at the drop of a headset.

His current job as quarterbacks coach of the Baltimore Ravens that begins Monday is nothing more than busy work. Neuheisel is too proud and accomplished -- there is that .688 career winning percentage -- to be anything but a head coach in college.

But will a school hire him?

"If it's the right fit, yes," said Chuck Neinas, who is the country's foremost authority on hiring college coaches. "The thing I've said is that fit becomes really important."

Neinas knows. The former Big Eight commissioner runs Neinas Sports Services, the leading headhunter in the industry. Need a short list for AD or coach? Call Neinas. With his connections and experience, he is trusted and specializes in working on the down low.

Coaches can go through an entire interview process without the public knowing. Neinas is the go-between before formal negotiations even heat up, giving any coaching candidate plausible deniability with the media and fans.

He knows the market and the landscape and sees a chance for an Extreme Neuheisel Makeover. Why not? There's a rehabilitating alcoholic coaching Southern Miss basketball (Larry Eustachy). We know that Mike Price favored a strip club, for at least one night. So where does Neuheisel hang in rogues' gallery?