Former Ball State football coach Mike Neu has found his next coaching job.
According to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Neu has accepted a position as a senior offensive assistant at Illinois.
Sources: Former Ball State coach Mike Neu has accepted a job as a senior offensive assistant at Illinois. He was the quarterbacks coach for the New Orleans Saints (2014-15) and at Tulane (2012-13) prior to taking the Ball State head coaching job in 2016. pic.twitter.com/77h8pILWLO
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 29, 2025
Neu was fired from Ball State on Nov. 16 after a loss to Buffalo knocked the Cardinals to 3-7, eliminating them from bowl game contention. Neu played quarterback at Ball State from 1990-93 and returned as the head coach in 2016, compiling a record of 40-63 over his nine seasons as coach. He led Ball State to a MAC Championship in 2020 and is the only person to win a MAC title as a player and coach for the same school.
More: Ball State football: Early enrollees in Mike Uremovich’s first recruiting class announced
More: What did it cost Ball State football to fire coach Mike Neu during 2024 season?
Neu was named MAC Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year as a senior in 1993 and began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Ball State in 1994. He played briefly in the Canadian Football League and Arena Football League before becoming a quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator in the AFL.
Neu’s first head coaching job was with the AFL’s New Orleans Voodoo from 2004-08. After the AFL folded in 2008, he remained in New Orleans as a scout for the Saints until 2011. He served as the quarterbacks coach at Tulane from 2012-14 and returned to the Saints as the quarterbacks coach for the 2014-15 season before taking the Ball State job in 2016.
Neu will reunite with another former Cardinal in wide receiver Justin Bowick, who transferred to Illinois after one season at Ball State. Bowick appeared in four games before taking a redshirt and sitting out the final two games of the season after Neu had been fired.
After Neu’s firing, Ball State went 0-2 under interim coach Colin Johnson to finish the season at 3-9. Mike Uremovich was announced as the new Ball State coach on Dec. 4.
Contact Cade Hampton via email at cbhampton@muncie.gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @CadeHamp10.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Report | Former Ball State football coach Mike Neu hired at Illinois
