Jim Leavitt Fired!

[FlyingFinn]

I guess everything caught up with him in the end. Can't say I am surprised... Not sure if I will re-up my season tickets or not. I guess it depends on who replaces him.

[superjames1992]

Re: Jim Leavitt Fired!

I would say Mike Leach, but he has his own supposed absusiveness.

I don't know who USF looks to. Maybe Terry Bowden?

[MassNole]

Re: Jim Leavitt Fired!

Terry Bowden would be an excellent hire for USF.

[Cusefan]

Re: Jim Leavitt Fired!

there are quite a few good quality coaches out on the market right now.

[metallicatz]

Re: Jim Leavitt Fired!

He's done wonders for that program but he had it coming in a big way. When he told Miller to "choose your words wisely because i'm the most powerful man in the building" it would've been classic if Miller smiled, walked over to the office door and locked it, and then walked back to Leavitt's desk, picked up the phone on the desk and removed the cord, and then leaned over the desk and said "now who's the most powerful man in the room old man?".

[FlyingFinn]

Re: Jim Leavitt Fired!

An Open Letter to the USF Community and Alumni

From: Judy Genshaft, President

I want to take a moment to thank Jim Leavitt, USF’s founding football coach. As a native of St. Petersburg, Jim Leavitt was enthusiastic and successful in launching USF football from start-up to national achievement. He worked hard to run a successful program for 14 years and many USF athletes went on to greater heights.

Sadly, at the end of his tenure at USF, Coach Leavitt committed serious violations of our standards of conduct. A thorough, fair and professional review conducted by internal and external reviewers over the past three weeks led the university to decide that USF should now seek a new head coach.

This university exists to create a safe and exciting learning environment for its students. Intercollegiate athletics must always be seen as part of that learning environment. I’ve been deeply impressed by the accomplishments of the Athletic Department in ensuring our athletes are treated as students first.

Today we’ll open a national search for a new head football coach. The Athletic Department anticipates a swift search, because, as Athletic Director Doug Woolard says, this is a strong team with a strong future.

This was sent out to the USF Faculty and Staff

[Solidice]

Re: Jim Leavitt Fired!

I would say Mike Leach, but he has his own supposed absusiveness.

doubtful, but it would be funny to see what Leach would do with a pirate ship in the stadium USF plays in. lol

[Watson]

Re: Jim Leavitt Fired!

doubtful, but it would be funny to see what Leach would do with a pirate ship in the stadium USF plays in. lol

lmao.

Probably Tuberville.

[seasprite]

Re: Jim Leavitt Fired!

Yup, I have heard Tubbs as well and with the entire staff as USF gone, Tubbs will be able to assemble his own coaching staff.

[superjames1992]

Re: Jim Leavitt Fired!

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/andy_staples/01/08/leavitt/index.html

Thousands of coaches will descend on Orlando, Fla., this weekend for the annual American Football Coaches Association convention. If they're smart, all but a few will come, resume in hand, to the hotel room of South Florida athletic director Doug Woolard.

The firing of Coach Jim Leavitt on Friday for allegedly striking a player is a shameful end to what should have been a fantastic story about a man who built a program from scratch, but anyone who spent any time around the program could have guessed Leavitt's story would end unhappily. His reputation for hotheadedness and for driving assistants too hard was going to catch up to him even if he hadn't had his confrontation with walk-on Joel Miller at halftime of the Louisville game.

This is a chance for USF -- and for one lucky coach -- to write a new chapter. Few jobs in America offer a first-year coach the opportunity to win a BCS conference title in 2010. USF's does. Few jobs in America allow a coach to recruit a BCS conference champion without ever buying a plane ticket. USF's does.

Don't believe USF sits atop a goldmine? Consider this. In the past six years, the state of Florida has produced 1,186 BCS conference signees. In last year's SI.com study of how location affects recruiting and on-field success, we found that programs that can draw players from within 200 miles from campus have a prohibitive advantage over schools that cannot. So guess how many players from within 200 miles of USF's campus signed with a big-six conference team or with Notre Dame in the past six years? Nine hundred nineteen.

If you need to look away, wipe your eyes and look again to make sure that number is correct, go ahead. It's still 919. That means the 200-mile radius surrounding USF produces an average of 153 BCS-conference caliber players a year. Schools can only bring in 25 a year, so even if Florida, Florida State and Miami take their pick, USF still has three signing classes worth of players from which to choose. And if the new coach can win a conference title or two, it won't be a given that a recruit will choose one of the other three over USF.

So if I'm Tommy Tuberville, I roll the dice and yank my name from the Texas Tech search and hop the first flight to Tampa. Texas Tech is a fine program, but no matter how good the coach is, the Red Raiders will lose most recruiting skirmishes with Texas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. USF has had more raw talent than anyone in the Big East for the past three years, but Leavitt wasn't able to mold that talent into a team that could play consistently for 12 games.

The right coach can. That may be Tuberville, a great gameday coach who must prove he'll hire a staff that will aggressively recruit the Sunshine State and compete with Florida, Florida State and Miami for players. It could someone like former USF assistant and Iowa State head coach Dan McCarney, who is now the defensive line coach at Florida. It could be a hot young assistant such as Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, who just celebrated a BCS title on Thursday night.

All three of these coaches would be excellent for the job. They're smart. They know how to win, and, unlike Leavitt, they understand a program of USF's stature needs as much positive publicity as it can get. Tuberville and McCarney are masters of the media interview, and while Smart isn't available for many interviews, he's candid, witty and cerebral when he is.

The winning coach's agents may have to settle for a lower salary than most schools with potential BCS conference championship programs can pay, but USF isn't awash in cash. A smart agent will realize the second payday will be well worth the small sacrifice after a couple of Big East titles. So will a smart coach.

So polish up those resumes, boys. A golden opportunity awaits.

[MassNole]

Re: Jim Leavitt Fired!

Wow Tubs would get his *** handed to him trying to recruit in Florida.

[seasprite]

Re: Jim Leavitt Fired!

Wow Tubs would get his *** handed to him trying to recruit in Florida.

Not if he brings a certain assistant coach made offensive coordinator that you and I know all about.

[MassNole]

Re: Jim Leavitt Fired!

Oddly FSU is more worried about Passing Coordinator Lawrence Dawsey leaving for USF. Even with Gran though, Tubbs has Urban Meyer, Randy Shannon, and Jimbo Fisher to contend with. Meyer and Fisher are great recruiters and Shannon has the home town edge.

[peteykirch]

Re: Jim Leavitt Fired!

2 to 1 odds, that the dirty laundry at USF now comes out and sanctions will follow.

[cubsfan203]

Re: Jim Leavitt Fired!

Too bad, he was South Florida football. Started a program from scratch and only had two losing seasons, one being the first one and he still went 5-6. Pretty incredible if you think about everything he accomplished there in such little time.