Couldn't link the paper, here's the article. Interesting.
LEAVITT PUZZLER
USF's ex-coach is a winning assistant in Colorado. Should he be a head coach again?
The guy can coach.
Always could.
That was never the question, was it?
If you have watched any Colorado football on TV this season, you might have caught a glimpse of the team's defensive coordina tor. I saw him against Michigan. He was hopping up and down, and drenched with sweat. It was the first quarter.
Same old Jim Leavitt.
Nearly seven years after he was fired by USF after an investigation found that he'd struck a player and then interfered with the investigation, Leavitt, USF's former master builder, is on his game.
In his second season in Boulder, Leavitt's defense, ranked 13th in the nation, has made a 10-game winner out of Colorado, which had won just 10 games over its previous three seasons. Tonight, the ninth-ranked Buffaloes face No. 4 Washington in the Pac-12 Championship Game. Jim Leavitt could end up in the Rose Bowl. He has already been to a Super Bowl.
Not only that, but Leavitt is being talked about as a possible head coach again. Florida Atlantic is rumored to be interested. Jim Leavitt back in Florida.
. See FENNELLY, 3C
FENNELLY
continued from 1C
'He deserves a lot of credit,' said Matt Grothe, who starred at quarterback for Leavitt, including on the 2007 team that climbed to No. 2 in the county. 'Everybody would be shocked if he wasn't a head coach somewhere after what he has done. The past is the past. I'm just glad it worked out for him.' Then there's Paul Miller of Tampa.
'Oh, my God,' Miller said over in the phone. 'A head coach again?' Miller is the father of Joel Miller, the player Leavitt was accused of attacking at halftime of USF's game with Louisville in 2009. Paul Miller still has a problem with Leavitt coaching anywhere. I have some problems with it myself.
'It's not good for college football,' Miller said. 'It's not good for people in general. Something is going to happen. I don't know what. I don't know if he'll ever lay hands on another football player. But something will happen. He bullies kids. He bullies everyone. He's a bully.' There's never going to be one answer when it comes to Jim Leavitt.
All voices need to be heard. Still.
Leavitt built USF from the ground up, up from trailers into that No. 2 ranking in 2007. He never closed the deal with a conference championship, but he made something from nothing.
The guy had passion. Coaches and players still laugh at the memory of blood running down Leavitt's nose after him head-butting players' helmets to fire them up. Grothe remembers Leavitt racing across the practice fields and doing a headfirst baseball slide into a huddle. 'I just want to show you I'll fight for every yard,' Leavitt shouted.
He also destroyed his 13-year USF career. I know accounts vary, but I'll always believe Leavitt struck Joel Miller. I'll always believe Leavitt tried to obstruct the investigation, probably the biggest reason he was fired. And he should have been fired.
He had become a 600-pound gorilla on that campus. He had to go, though it should be noted that a year after Leavitt was fired, USF reached a $2.75 million settlement with Leavitt to resolve the wrongful termination lawsuit he filed.
Leavitt went to the NFL and did a good job coaching linebackers for Jim Harbaugh and the San Francisco 49ers, who made a Super Bowl (the Pac-12 Championship Game is being played at the 49ers' stadium). Now he has led the Colorado resurgence.
I reached out to Leavitt. He didn't reach back. Colorado's sports information people, one of the best crews going, tried its best, but Leavitt said he was slammed prepping for Washington. One focused guy. Sounds familiar.
Jim Leavitt has turned a football team around. He might get an award. He might get a head coaching job again, maybe even in Florida.
A lot of people think enough time has passed.
I'm not so sure.
But one thing I know for certain.
The guy can coach.
Always could.
MARTIN FENNELLY
mfennelly@tampabay.com
© 2016. All Rights Reserved. Times Publishing Company. See Our Privacy Policy. 12/2/2016
LEAVITT PUZZLER
USF's ex-coach is a winning assistant in Colorado. Should he be a head coach again?
The guy can coach.
Always could.
That was never the question, was it?
If you have watched any Colorado football on TV this season, you might have caught a glimpse of the team's defensive coordina tor. I saw him against Michigan. He was hopping up and down, and drenched with sweat. It was the first quarter.
Same old Jim Leavitt.
Nearly seven years after he was fired by USF after an investigation found that he'd struck a player and then interfered with the investigation, Leavitt, USF's former master builder, is on his game.
In his second season in Boulder, Leavitt's defense, ranked 13th in the nation, has made a 10-game winner out of Colorado, which had won just 10 games over its previous three seasons. Tonight, the ninth-ranked Buffaloes face No. 4 Washington in the Pac-12 Championship Game. Jim Leavitt could end up in the Rose Bowl. He has already been to a Super Bowl.
Not only that, but Leavitt is being talked about as a possible head coach again. Florida Atlantic is rumored to be interested. Jim Leavitt back in Florida.
. See FENNELLY, 3C
FENNELLY
continued from 1C
'He deserves a lot of credit,' said Matt Grothe, who starred at quarterback for Leavitt, including on the 2007 team that climbed to No. 2 in the county. 'Everybody would be shocked if he wasn't a head coach somewhere after what he has done. The past is the past. I'm just glad it worked out for him.' Then there's Paul Miller of Tampa.
'Oh, my God,' Miller said over in the phone. 'A head coach again?' Miller is the father of Joel Miller, the player Leavitt was accused of attacking at halftime of USF's game with Louisville in 2009. Paul Miller still has a problem with Leavitt coaching anywhere. I have some problems with it myself.
'It's not good for college football,' Miller said. 'It's not good for people in general. Something is going to happen. I don't know what. I don't know if he'll ever lay hands on another football player. But something will happen. He bullies kids. He bullies everyone. He's a bully.' There's never going to be one answer when it comes to Jim Leavitt.
All voices need to be heard. Still.
Leavitt built USF from the ground up, up from trailers into that No. 2 ranking in 2007. He never closed the deal with a conference championship, but he made something from nothing.
The guy had passion. Coaches and players still laugh at the memory of blood running down Leavitt's nose after him head-butting players' helmets to fire them up. Grothe remembers Leavitt racing across the practice fields and doing a headfirst baseball slide into a huddle. 'I just want to show you I'll fight for every yard,' Leavitt shouted.
He also destroyed his 13-year USF career. I know accounts vary, but I'll always believe Leavitt struck Joel Miller. I'll always believe Leavitt tried to obstruct the investigation, probably the biggest reason he was fired. And he should have been fired.
He had become a 600-pound gorilla on that campus. He had to go, though it should be noted that a year after Leavitt was fired, USF reached a $2.75 million settlement with Leavitt to resolve the wrongful termination lawsuit he filed.
Leavitt went to the NFL and did a good job coaching linebackers for Jim Harbaugh and the San Francisco 49ers, who made a Super Bowl (the Pac-12 Championship Game is being played at the 49ers' stadium). Now he has led the Colorado resurgence.
I reached out to Leavitt. He didn't reach back. Colorado's sports information people, one of the best crews going, tried its best, but Leavitt said he was slammed prepping for Washington. One focused guy. Sounds familiar.
Jim Leavitt has turned a football team around. He might get an award. He might get a head coaching job again, maybe even in Florida.
A lot of people think enough time has passed.
I'm not so sure.
But one thing I know for certain.
The guy can coach.
Always could.
MARTIN FENNELLY
mfennelly@tampabay.com
© 2016. All Rights Reserved. Times Publishing Company. See Our Privacy Policy. 12/2/2016
