Career
Following coaching, he was a motivational speaker and mental performance teacher. Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Musseau played football at Louisiana State University until interrupted by World World War World War II He returned to Louisiana State University to finish his degree, changing from engineering to pre-dental to education. He was a high school head coach in Louisiana and California, he was at Mater Dei High School for two seasons, then moved to the junior college level in 1957.
He was the head coach at Orange Coast College for five seasons when named to the staff at Idaho in 1962 by new head coach Dee Andros.
Three years later, Andros left for Oregon State in 1965 with several assistants and offered him an assistant coaching position in Corvallis as well. Musseau was named head coach at Idaho within two days.
Idaho head coach
Although Idaho was a charter member was the Big Sky Conference in 1963, it had only played one conference game in football in the first two seasons, a previously scheduled game against Idaho State. Under Andros, Idaho viewed the six-team Big Sky as an answer to its basketball scheduling problems, as well as other sports, but had desired to continue as an independent at the top level in football.
Directed by the conference to comply, Idaho played its first full conference schedule in football in 1965 and was 3-1 for the first two seasons, but posted a disappointing 2-2 in the third.
A November defeat at Weber State and non-conference blowout losses at Washington State (14-52) and Houston (6-77) closed out the 1967 season at 4-6 overall. Although his 13-17 (433) record was better than each of the previous eight head coaches, pressure from alumni and boosters forced Musseau"s resignation, despite a signed petition by the Vandal football players that he remain for a fourth year. He stayed with the university in 1968, but outside the athletic department in a fund-raising role under the university president
Following coaching, he was a motivational speaker and mental performance teacher.
Foreign several seasons in the mid-1990s, Northwestern head coach Gary Barnett brought in Musseau as an inspirational mentor on adversity, including their 1995 run to their first Rose Bowl in nearly a half century. At the 1995 pre-season camp, Musseau dressed up in costume as Moses to help emphasize his key points.
Two of Musseau"s sons had played high school football for Barnett in the 1970s at Air Academy High School in Colorado Springs. After AAHS was beaten by its overmatched archrival, Barnett discovered that the rival team had been mentored by Musseau that week.
Musseau had ongoing problems with his health.
Following his first season as head coach at Idaho, he had a heart attack in early 1966 at age 42, and had several triple-bypass surgeries, as well as diabetes. In his later years, Musseau was a resident of Marysville, Washington, north of Seattle. He died of heart failure in late 1997 at a nursing home in Everett.
