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Neuheisel On Firing ' It Will Hurt Immensely'

(CBS) -- Speaking to the media for the first time since being fired as head football coach at UCLA, Rick Neuheisel said he came to work expecting to get ready to coach his team Monday morning, when he was told he was being fired.

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Neuheisel will coach the team on Friday night in Eugene said, " It was a thrill while it lasted and I'm sorry we didn't accomplish more."

Neuheisel was signed to a five-year coaching deal at UCLA that was to expire at the end of next season, isn't ready to give up his career as a coach, "I'm a good coach, but like any coach, you need all  your ducks in a line to be as successful as a I can be, but I'll lay down and bleed for awhile and rise up and be successful again."

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"I have a great deal of respect for Rick Neuheisel and the manner in which he has run this program during his tenure as UCLA head football coach," UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero said. "Decisions such as this one do not come without a great deal of heartache. However, it is apparent to me that a move was necessary at this time in order to give UCLA the best chance to enjoy the success that we all desire."

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