Via LARRY BROWN SPORTS, we have L.A. TIMES columnist Kurt Streeter interviewing new UCLA football head coach Rick Neuheisel regarding his disciplinary role (or lack thereof) after the SEATTLE TIMES chronicled the runaway nature of the University of Washington’s program and players during its 2000 Rose Bowl season.

Neuheisel refused to comment on the initial series of articles, but now tells Streeter, particularly with regard to the rape allegations surrounding then-UW tight end Jerramy Stevens, that it would not have been right to suspend a player for allegations without more proof.

“What evidence did we have, that I was privy to?” he asked. “The stuff that was written in that article was not stuff that I was privy to.”

However, Slick Rick does wish he’d been tougher on Stevens after the tight end got into a hit and run accident, saying he “should have made that penalty stiffer” (he only suspended Stevens for half a game), and promises to be more of a disciplinarian at his alma mater:

“I didn’t give out huge penalties in the first place,” he said, leaning forward. But now, “I can see the value of stiff penalties in the future, when they are warranted.”

I’ll believe it when I see it. Neuheisel made it difficult for anyone to trust him openly with the maintenance and day-to-day operations of a football programs after recruiting violations at Colorado and the disciplinary oversights revealed at Washington. The thing is, coaches that find themselves being a little less than swift on punishment in the college ranks — along with any other coaching tendencies and habits — hard to break.