Michael David Neu (born December 29, 1970) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach and former

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

who serves as a senior offensive assistant for

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. He recently served as the head football coach at Ball State. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at Ball State for Paul Schudel from 1990 to 1993. Neu played in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) for one season, in France Championnat Élite Division 1 one season, then in the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL) for 2 seasons from 1996 to 1997. He then served as the head coach of the

af2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football r ...

Augusta Stallions The Augusta Stallions were a professional Arena football team based in Augusta, Georgia. They were one of the 15 original teams to join the inaugural 2000 AF2 season. They started off in the American Conference, before switching to the Southeas ...

(2000), the AFL's

Carolina Cobras The Carolina Cobras were an expansion franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was formed prior to the 2000 season, which endured a player strike. The team was originally based in Raleigh, North Carolina, but moved to Charlotte followin ...

(2001–2002) and the

New Orleans VooDoo The New Orleans VooDoo were a professional arena football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They were members of the Arena Football League from 2004 to 2015. The VooDoo were the second team to play in the Arena Football League and play in ...

(2004–2008). In 2016, Neu returned to his alma mater, Ball State.

Early life and playing career

Born in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

on December 29, 1970, Neu is the son of Gwyndoline and Ed Neu. He attended Perry Meridian High School in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, where was the starting quarterback. He was named All-State as a senior in 1989. Neu grew up a fan of the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

. In 1990, Neu enrolled at

Ball State University Ball State University (Ball State or BSU) is a public research university in Muncie, Indiana, United States. The university has three off-campus centers in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and Fishers, Indiana. The university is composed of seven aca ...

and played quarterback for the Cardinals, starting for four seasons. As a senior in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, he led Ball State to the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

(MAC) championship, was named the MAC MVP and Offensive Player of the Year. Neu signed with the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

of the

, where he served as a backup to

Doug Flutie Douglas Richard Flutie (born October 23, 1962) is an American former professional Gridiron football, football quarterback who played for 21 seasons. He played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), eight seasons in the Canadian Footb ...

in 1995. He signed with the Grenoble Centaures in France. In 1996, Neu signed with the

Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played it ...

of the

, where he spent the season as a backup to

Pat O'Hara Patrick O'Hara (born September 27, 1968) is an American football coach and former quarterback who most recently served as the pass game analyst for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the head coa ...

. He appeared in a single game for the Predators, throwing and rushing for touchdowns. The following year he signed with the

Nashville Kats The Nashville Kats were an Arena Football League team, located in Nashville, Tennessee. They were last coached by Pat Sperduto, who coached the team's original incarnation to two ArenaBowl appearances prior to the original franchise's move to A ...

, but never appeared in a single game.

Coaching career

In 1994, before pursuing a professional career, Neu would become a graduate assistant for Ball State. From 1998 to 1999, he would remain with the Kats, but in the roles of quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator respectfully. In 2000, he turned to the

as the head coach of the

. Neu returned to the AFL ranks in 2001 as the offensive coordinator for the

. When head coach Doug Kay resigned suddenly during the season, Neu was elevated to head coach of the Cobras, leading them to a Wild Card round loss to the

Indiana Firebirds The Indiana Firebirds were a team in the Arena Football League. The team was based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Home games were played at the Conseco Fieldhouse, also the home of the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association and Indiana ...

. After having the interim tag removed, Neu led the Cobras to the AFL Semifinals, where they lost to AFL runner-up,

Arizona Rattlers The Arizona Rattlers are a professional indoor American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Rattlers were founded in 1992 as an expansion team in the Arena Football League ...

. After taking a year off, Neu was named the head coach of the

and led them to a 2004 South Division Title. During the

2006 AFL season The 2006 AFL season was the 110th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured sixt ...

, while the VooDoo suspended operations for the season, he worked as a professional scout for the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

. In 2014, Neu left his job as quarterbacks coach with the

Tulane Green Wave football The Tulane Green Wave football team represents Tulane University in the sport of American football. The Tulane Green Wave, Green Wave compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a memb ...

team, to take the same position with the Saints. Neu was named the head coach at his alma mater Ball State on January 7, 2016. Neu was signed to a two-year extension in 2020. In the 2020 season, Mike Neu guided Ball State to their first bowl victory in school history defeating the 19th ranked San Jose State Spartans by a score of 34-13 in the Arizona Bowl. Ball State fired Neu with two games remaining in the 2024 season. In almost nine seasons, Neu had 40 wins and 63 losses, with 2020 the sole winning season. Colin Johnson succeeded him as interim head coach.

Personal

Neu has three children: Graycen, Carson, and Chase.

Head coaching record

Professional

College

References

External links

Tulane profile

Ball State profile

AFL player stats

AFL coaching stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neu, Mike 1970 births Living people American football quarterbacks Augusta Stallions coaches Ball State Cardinals football coaches Ball State Cardinals football players Carolina Cobras coaches Nashville Kats coaches New Orleans Saints coaches New Orleans Saints scouts New Orleans VooDoo coaches Orlando Predators players Tulane Green Wave football coaches Coaches of American football from Indiana Players of American football from Indianapolis Players of Canadian football from Indianapolis