Undefeated dre…

January 8th, 2010 at 10:14 AM ^

Florida defensive line coach Dan McCarney, former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville, who has strong ties in the state of Florida from his tenure on Miami's coaching staff, and Michigan offensive coordinator Calvin Magee are expected to be candidates to replace Leavitt, a source told ESPN.com's Ivan Maisel.

That would be serious -- is the Florida recruiting connection more Rodriguez or Magee?

me

January 8th, 2010 at 10:42 AM ^

but it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world either. It would depend on who Magee would take with him, if anyone. The two big ones would be Smith and Frey.

Smith is a great recruiter in Florida but has deep ties to RR. So I can't see him leaving at this point. If anything, maybe RR just promotes him to OC.

Frey is the other. He coached at USF with Magee for a couple of years. He was only with RR for one year at WV prior to coming to UM. He is supposed to be a very good coach and recruiter. He would be a pretty big loss in my mind.

Topher

January 8th, 2010 at 10:17 AM ^

When the kid and dad "recanted" their stories, I thought
I'm still not 100% sure what I believe about this, but if it is true he tried to obstruct the investigation by tampering with sources, then firing him is the absolute right call.

Tater

January 8th, 2010 at 11:08 AM ^

A player who was there says Leavitt didn't do what he was accused of, and that the players, almost all of who supported Leavitt's side of the story initially, were told by the AD not to say anything in public. Here is what he told the investigators:

"Murph reacted to that, like 'Okay, Okay,' but Joel was kind of out of it. Coach got him by the shoulder pads, saying 'Joel, we need you.' It wasn't nothing, no choke or no slap or nothing like that. He grabbed him like a motivational talk. I would have seen it if it was a slap. I was right across. I talked to (investigators) and this is what I told them. That's the truth. There wasn't nothing like what Colby Erskin said."

http://www.tampabay.com/sports/college/article1063906.ece

jtmc33

January 8th, 2010 at 10:18 AM ^

Wow! That's three. Mangino / Leach / Leavitt.

Not sure if this new mentality of what a coach should/can't do is good or bad, but either way, dickhead coaches are on the outs.

Looks like the days of Woody Hayes coaching are 100% dead. No more grabbing face-masks, no more locking kids in sheds because they are "injured", no more threatening poor black kids that if they drop another pass you'll send them back to the hood to get shot like their dead brother, no more beating up a walk on to pump up your starters. Basically, coaches can't do anything that coaches did prior to 1999.

It is officially a different era. Players are tatteling on coaches, the media is hunting for coaches' heads who are "mean". Daddy's are running to their prince's rescue -- and it's working.

It's officially about Pete Caroll Player-coaches that coach with touchy-feeling feelings, no swearing, answering to parents complaints.

RR better watch his F-bombs!

megalomanick

January 8th, 2010 at 10:27 AM ^

Rich Rodriguez's F-bombs and Barwis torture are not even close to being in the same league as Leavitt and Mangino. The Leach thing is possibly based on ulterior motives so I won't put him in the same category. Grabbing a kid's facemask and hollering at him on the sidelines, or making him run sprints or stadium steps is not the same as telling a kid you're going to send him back to the ghetto to get shot like his brother or physically striking one of your players and then impeding the investigation. I think there is still a place for gruff old-school coaches, but Mangino and Leavitt crossed the line.

jtmc33

January 8th, 2010 at 10:34 AM ^

Your sarcasm meter is broken.

But thank you for educating me on the differences between yelling "catch the fucking ball" at a player and "If you drop one more fucking pass I'm going to send you back to the 'hood so you can get shot like your brother."

Now I see that they are different. Thanks.

MH20

January 8th, 2010 at 10:30 AM ^

He dropped Michigan from consideration, and scheduled a visit with Memphis for that date (1/22 I believe). The schools he is now considering are Louisville, Syracuse, Florida International, Memphis and I would assume South Florida.

umhero

January 8th, 2010 at 10:47 AM ^

Why do you suppose Chandler has dropped schools like Michigan, LSU, Florida State, & Miami from consideration and replaced them with Louisville, Syracuse, Florida International, Memphis and South Florida?

Grades? Non-committable offers? Competition?

I just don't get it.

Topher

January 8th, 2010 at 10:36 AM ^

"Florida defensive line coach Dan McCarney, former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville, who has strong ties in the state of Florida from his tenure on Miami's coaching staff, and _Michigan offensive coordinator Calvin Magee_ are expected to be candidates to replace Leavitt, a source told ESPN.com's Ivan Maisel.

Seth9

January 8th, 2010 at 10:38 AM ^

"A family's complaint about how Mike Leach treated their son after a concussion ultimately led to Leach's recent firing by Texas Tech..."

In other words, "Our analyst, Craig James, ran Mike Leach out of town."

Tater

January 8th, 2010 at 11:00 AM ^

Looks like the steroids/HGH witch hunt is losing momentum, and the media now has the "abusive" coach witch hunt to replace it. I wonder how long Bo would have made it in this era? Ironically, those who endured Bo's "tough love" for four years pretty much worshipped him after they left UM, and almost every ex-Bo player, including the current AD, cited Bo's teachings as a major reason for their success.

I'm glad there wasn't anybody in administration who took the losers who bitched about Bo seriously. All it would take nowadays is for a player's side of the story to get out, a bunch of self-righteous media to bemoan his "abuse," the public buying into the story as gospel, and Bo would be gone.

Thankfully, it wasn't like that back then, and two generations of UM players were able to benefit from Bo's discipline and guidance. I'm not saying that any of the coaches in question were as good as Bo, but I am saying that the recent rash of coach firings, which all happened in slight down years, is questionable at best.

As for USF, they shouldn't be looking for an assistant to train on the job. If they want to be a major player, they need to hire someone with head coaching experience. That would make Tuberville the best of a mediocre lot candidates with head coaching experience.

Undefeated dre…

January 8th, 2010 at 11:08 AM ^

Back in the day I had my facemask tugged, my helmet slapped, and my self-worth publicly questioned by a football coach. But he never, ever, hit me or any other player. If Leavitt did that, he's over the line. If Bo did that, he would have been over the line. But he didn't, and that's why we worship him.

I know you're also talking about Leach, and it does seem like he got railroaded with the James situation serving as a convenient catalyst to fire him.

myrtlebeachmai…

January 8th, 2010 at 11:16 AM ^

but I have to really question whether this isn't just the new "loophole" that some administrations have jumped on to oust coaches that they don't feel like paying off.

That said, I can't believe (i.e. been holding my breath) that something along these lines hasn't already come up in Michigan. It's not RR's methods I suspect, I'm a supporter. I also think our admin (at least MSC and the new AD) has his back for now. There just seem to be some who have it in for him, and with what we know about the aggressive training programs etc, I'm honestly surprised someone hasn't tried to turn nothing into something.

Thank God all the idiot transfers are gone by now...

Topher

January 8th, 2010 at 11:41 AM ^

"Looks like the steroids/HGH witch hunt is losing momentum, and the media now has the "abusive" coach witch hunt to replace it. I wonder how long Bo would have made it in this era? Ironically, those who endured Bo's "tough love" for four years pretty much worshipped him after they left UM, and almost every ex-Bo player, including the current AD, cited Bo's teachings as a major reason for their success. "

I think America is in a major conflict with reality. We like to see things like good football team, successful performers, great authors, etc. But as a nation we are squeamish about what it actually takes to be number one. People want to believe that the "everybody just have some fun" soccer-mom attitude can produce a successful football team, corporate body or military unit. In a word, it can't.

Google makes a big deal about all its perks and its laissez faire work environment. It works because they hire highly intelligent, workaholic overachievers who don't need the stick, just the carrot.

No one enjoys being pushed beyond their natural comfort level, but once you go past it and realize you can do more than you think, you are normally grateful for having been pushed. That's why Bo is loved by his players. If it takes some F-bombs and a coach ripping the players, so be it. (Striking a player or degrading "shot with your homies" comments are another matter entirely.)

Playing football isn't exactly being a Navy SEAL, but it requires commitment, work and motivation above and beyond the average person's independent capacity. That's what coaches are for.

I understand this is all very Col. Jessup "you need me on that wall!" The thing about the Adam Jameses of the world is that they can't handle the truth. The mistake of Col Jessup was to suborn criminal activity; A Few Good Men explores the thin line between driving for high achievement and thinking you are above the law.

bryemye

January 8th, 2010 at 1:04 PM ^

The guy always seemed like a psycho on the sidelines. Not hard to envision him straight losing it. That said, where's the proof that he tampered with witnesses again? Because if he didn't, and nobody is saying he actually hit this kid, why is he getting fired?

This doesn't help: http://espn.go.com/blog/BigEast/post/_/id/6984/ugly-end-to-leavitts-car…

I wish nothing but awful things for Texas Tech's entire athletic department based on Leach and what I have seen. Mangino's firing/resignation I was 100% behind. I'm waiting on the facts on this, I guess, but this sure seems strange.

gobluesasquatch

January 8th, 2010 at 2:39 PM ^

In all three cases, these teams were underperforming this year when lined up against expectations. Coaches tend to get upset. They might even tend to ride players harder. It's okay when you win, and usually winners take coaches being mean if it leads to a victory.

However, a very dangerous trend is being established in college football. We already know that University presidents are weak when it comes to standing up to pressure. I could go on about how they always bow to the first complaint made by a student group, but that's for another time. College football players are seeing that if they don't like their coach, the coach that recruited them and now puts up with their whining and complaining, they can allege an abuse and get that coach fired.

Maybe Mangino was a jerk - and it sounds like he was. But I've not heard former players complain about either Leach or Leavitt. Why are these allegations coming out now? Because the players aren't having a great season, and they need some reason to complain. Adam James - we've all been on teams with guys like him, the perpetually injured, but never willing to practice/play through it (there are the perpetually injured in part because they are always pushing themselves in practice or on the field - totally different type of athlete).

Maybe instead of transferring away, Tony Clemons and Justin Boren and some of the others should have just alleged that RichRod beat them, told them to get back to the ghetto, or bitch-slapped them after they dropped the ball on a punt return (his hand would be very sore by now).

NHWolverine

January 8th, 2010 at 2:57 PM ^

When I consider the Leavitt situation I can't help but think of the Year of the Bull documentary. The clip below is a little lengthy and NSFW (language). A little over half way through the HC of the team full on jumps a player and starts a fist fight: