The New Orleans Saints have hired Mike Neu as quarterbacks coach. The announcement was made by Coach Sean Payton on Wednesday. Neu, who served as an area scout for the Saints for three seasons, returns to the club after serving as quarterbacks coach at Tulane from 2012-13.
In addition to having five years of experience on the Saints' player personnel staff, Neu has also coached 13 years in college and the Arena Football League, including serving as the coach of the AFL's New Orleans VooDoo from 2004-08.
In his first season with the Green Wave in 2012, Neu tutored Saints signal-caller Ryan Griffin. Griffin started all nine games he played in and was an honorable mention All-Conference USA selection after completing 245-of-394 (62.2 percent) passes for 2,771 yards with 20 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, ranking second in the conference in passing yards per game (307.9). In 2013, he integrated both junior Nick Montana and redshirt freshman Devin Powell into the lineup as Tulane posted a 7-6 record and played in the 2013 R L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, their its postseason appearance in 11 years. Powell earned conference Offensive Player of the Week honors for his performance in Tulane's 36-33 overtime win over East Carolina on Oct. 12 when he started due to an injury to Montana and completed 23-of-39 passes for 224 yards with two touchdowns.
Prior to joining the Tulane coaching staff, Neu spent eight years with the VooDoo and Saints organizations. Hired as coach of the expansion VooDoo in 2003 by Saints Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis, Neu posted an 11-5 record in the club's inaugural season and was named the league's Coach of the Year, compiling a 33-31 record in four seasons. He then evaluated college players in the northeast region for the club for three seasons. He previously worked in the Saints' player personnel department from 2005-06, when the VooDoo suspended operations due to Hurricane Katrina.
Starting his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Ball State in 1994, Neu also served as coach of the AFL's Carolina Cobras franchise from 2001-02 and spent three years as an assistant in the league. He served as coach of the af2 Augusta Stallions in 2000 where he was named the league's Coach of the Year.
An Indianapolis native, Neu was a four-year starter at quarterback for Ball State where he was named the MAC Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year as a senior in 1993 and is a member of the School's Athletic Hall of Fame. He played professionally with the Canadian Football League's Calgary Stampeders and played in the AFL for two seasons.
