Bliss should never be allowed to coach again

By Michael Wilbon ~ The Washington Post

Rick Neuheisel will be coaching in Seattle this season after all . . . as a volunteer . . . at a high school. He reported to work a couple of days ago at Rainier Beach High to coach the quarterbacks. From head coach at the University of Washington to high school assistant.

That's a dramatic fall but not the biggest, nor the ugliest episode. Neuheisel was fired on July 28 for what the university cited as violations of NCAA rules on gambling. But at least Neuheisel is still employable. Several parents of Rainier Beach players thought it was great a coach as accomplished as Neuheisel will be tutoring their kids.

A whole lot of coaches have run afoul of either NCAA rules, or rules of common sense and decency in the last two years. It seemed to begin with George O'Leary lying on his résumé and having to resign days after accepting the Notre Dame job. And it continued with Jim Harrick's scandalous behavior at the University of Georgia, Jan Van Breda Kolff's problems at St. Bonaventure, Larry Eustachy's party boy ways out at Iowa State and Mike Price's almost comical indiscretions down at the University of Coach Bear Bryant.

Most, if not all of them, are employable. But let me tell you who isn't: Dave Bliss.

O'Leary got a gig right away with the Minnesota Vikings and works for one of his former pupils, Mike Tice. Eustachy, in a couple of years, will probably be able to convince some athletic director, maybe at a small school, that he has cut out his frat boy ways, has sobered up and deserves a second chance. Harrick and Price could probably hook on with the pros in some form or fashion where a good eye for talent trumps indiscretion every time.

Bliss, on the other hand, ought to be put away some place for a long time. I'm thinking jail, but it's not clear whether he did anything criminal, just heinous. There's no explaining away what Bliss has done down at Baylor. Look, lines in the sand are always being redrawn because folks will excuse a lot of stuff when a coach wins. But the line Bliss crossed can't be redrawn.

He tried to frame his own dead basketball player and use other members of his team to do it. Bliss tried to set up Patrick Dennehy as a druggie, either a user or seller or both. The transcript of the secretly taped conversation Bliss had with one of his assistants is conspiratorial and wicked to the point of being pure evil.

Bliss was attempting to manipulate the players, going so far as to make up dialogue line by line so the trail would never lead to the coach knowing anything about anything. One of his players died. Another player might have done the shooting. And all Bliss cared about was making sure folks didn't think he knew anything about it. It's as dark as it gets in college basketball.

This is Len Bias times five.

Bliss is unemployable. Nobody at any college or university at any level can have him on its campus.