Jerry Neuheisel

Biography

Jerry Neuheisel joined Northwestern's staff as the new quarterbacks coach in January 2026. Neuheisel joins the Northwestern staff following eight seasons at UCLA. This past year marked a significant expansion of his responsibilities, as he was promoted to assistant head coach in December 2024 before taking over offensive playcalling duties midway through the Bruins' 2025 campaign. A former UCLA quarterback, Neuheisel coached the Bruins' tight ends from 2024-25. Prior to that, he spent three seasons as UCLA's wide receivers coach (2021–23) and three seasons as a graduate assistant (2018–20) under current Northwestern offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. Neuheisel's ascension to offensive playcaller coincided with an immediate turnaround for UCLA after an 0-4 start to the season. In his first game calling plays, he helped guide the Bruins to a 42–37 victory over then-No. 7 Penn State at the Rose Bowl on Oct. 4. The win marked UCLA's first victory over an AP top-10 opponent since 2010 and the first time since 1985 that a team starting 0–4 or worse defeated a top-10 opponent. UCLA's 42 points were also its highest output since the 2023 season. The win over the Nittany Lions sparked a three-game winning streak against Big Ten opponents that garnered national attention. UCLA followed with a 38–13 road victory at Michigan State, its largest margin of victory since 2023, before closing the streak with a 20–17 win over Maryland that featured a game-winning drive in the final 35 seconds.