Mike Neu understood he wouldn't have an easy go of things when he left New Orleans to return to Muncie, Ind., to take the head coaching job at his alma mater, Ball State.
An Indianapolis native, Neu spent roughly a dozen years in New Orleans, first as the head coach of the Arena League's New Orleans VooDoo, then as the quarterbacks coach with Tulane and the NFL's Saints, with a stint on the Saints' player personnel staff thrown in.
After the 2015 season, however, opportunity arose in Muncie. Ball State, which lost Pete Lembo to an assistant head coaching position at Maryland, was in need of a head coach.