Questions about Jim Leavitt

Submitted by michgoblue on

Several posters in the MGoFish thread have speculated that our next DC could be Jim Leavitt.  Having not really followed USF at all, I know virtually nothing about him other than the unfortunate "incident" that led to his departure.  So, my question for those more knowledgeable (Magnus, Alum96, Space Coyote, etc.) is this:  putting aside his incident, which is pretty well discussed all over the web, what is the story with Leavitt?  Is he considered a good talent developer?  Schemer?  Recruiter (which I think is critical for a DC)? 

Thanks for any info.

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KC Wolve

December 15th, 2015 at 12:06 PM ^

I'm a fan. He was part of a monster staff at KSU that included Stoops, Venables, Mangino back when they had top 10 defenses. I'd love to have him back at KSU when the old man retires. I think he'd be a good fit on this staff as well.



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BlueMan80

December 15th, 2015 at 12:21 PM ^

It's not like Colorado is playing in a bowl game and they want to keep their staff intact for the game.  I guess Harbaugh is still working his options before making a choice or working through an overall agreement on assistant salaries for next year.  Jedd Fisch needs to get paid if he stays, since JAX's obligation expires at the end of this year/season.  Probably the latter...looking at the whole picture and the overall price tag for the staff before a new DC deal can be signed and announced.

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MDot

December 15th, 2015 at 12:14 PM ^

I think everybody deserves a second chance, and know for a fact that good people can make bad/irrational decisons...so I don't have much of a problem on that front.

 

My bigger concern is more of, that situation could easily be negatively recruited against, no? Especially kids w/ overprotecting (for lack of a better word) parents. If the recruiting battle is close, could be enough to sway against...

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BoFan

December 15th, 2015 at 12:16 PM ^

I don't how they could hire him given the ethical standards and culture Michigan espouses. Hackett would have to be long retired or long passed and he'd still roll over in his grave.

He was fired after a long and very successful career at USF. He built their program from nothing. Many top programs would look the other way so this has to be pretty bad to justify the firing. He was also fired because of multiple lies about, and pressuring students to lie about the incident of shoving a kid in the locker. We are not PSU or FSU or OSU.

Given the OPs avoiding the case, I understand there is sensitivity regarding stating the facts here. But we need to hold ourselves to the same standards of transparency and discussion that we apply to other programs.

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Ziff72

December 15th, 2015 at 12:25 PM ^

I don't want to talk about the incident but if you literally look at what Leavitt did, that player probably endured 1,000 things over the course of a year that caused him more pain.  Every block, tackle, work out etc.. involved in the sport he voluntarily signed up for probably hurt worse than whatever Leavitt did to him.

 

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Trader Jack

December 15th, 2015 at 4:39 PM ^

I never claimed that I know anything for sure, though there's more evidence than not that would suggest that something did happen. There are just several other solid candidates that didn't get fired for *allegedly* striking a player and then encouraging the people involved to lie about what happened. If OSU hired Leavitt, I doubt most of the people posting in defense of him would be so apt to excuse whatever happened. They'd be crushing OSU, and you know it.



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Millie's Cookies

December 15th, 2015 at 12:28 PM ^

neg-cruiting against Leavitt would be pretty easy given the "incident," no? Pretty easy for Meyer or Kelly to say "Sure, your son will learn the right blitz packages, but if he says the wrong thing, is he going to end up in the ER?"

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Reader71

December 15th, 2015 at 7:27 PM ^

Football players not being whiny little bitches is exactly the problem. Not to toot my own horn, but I love to fight. Never lost. Part of that is not letting people hit me. Coach, boss, cop, doesn't matter. What kind of tough guy signs up to be hit? Seems like the kind of guys you claim would be tough would be real sissies, OK with being punked because Harbaugh.

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Stringer Bell

December 15th, 2015 at 12:38 PM ^

Leavitt is a pretty good recruiter himself, especially in Florida which is where we'd be missing Durkin.  I'm not worried about recruiting, we have plenty of great recruiters.  Leavitt is a great defensive mind and developer of talent and he's probably worth whatever minor hit we'd potentially take on the recruiting trail.

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uncleFred

December 15th, 2015 at 12:28 PM ^

He was fired and sued for wrongful termination. Depending on your view neither side won that suit or both sides won. It's doubtful that FSU would have paid $2.75 million simply to make the suit go away, or to prevent details from emerging in open court, unless their action was at least questionable. Neither side can publicly discuss the details so none of us know what actually happened. 

Harbaugh, hired Leavitt at San Francisco. We can all be certain that Harbaugh does know all the details about what happened. If Harbaugh decides to hire Leavitt, I'm very comfortable that any questions about Leavitt have been fully and completely answered and that I need not be concerned.

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MotownGoBlue

December 15th, 2015 at 12:56 PM ^

Leavitt seems like a loose cannon. As many have pointed out, the problem with Leavitt extends passed the assault case. Allegedly, former players and coaches were asked to lie, in an attempt by Leavitt to cover-up the event(s). Why ask people to lie if you're innocent? Maybe it was personal, I don't know. For all we know, USF entered a breach of contract, upon termination. USF paying a hefty settlement doesn't necessarily absolve Leavitt of any wrongdoing. It just means he won his wrongful termination case...well about 40% or so. http://www.tampabay.com/sports/college/usf-settles-ex-coach-jim-leavitt… Does anyone know if Woody Hayes left with a pocketful of cash?

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MCalibur

December 15th, 2015 at 1:01 PM ^

I guess I understand the concerns many are expressing over the circumstances of Leavitt's termination at USF. What I dont understand is the certainty with which those positions are held. The people who will make the hiring decision will have much more information than we regarding what actually happened and we have no reason to question their judgement.

Spinning it forward, if Leavitt does become DC and he does as good a job as Harbaugh expects, would all the people turrning their nose up at Leavitt now do the same then? I doubt it.

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MotownGoBlue

December 15th, 2015 at 1:12 PM ^

"As part of the agreement, neither side is allowed to comment on the matter, and the settlement states that it should not be "construed as an admission by USF or Leavitt of any liability, wrongdoing or unlawful conduct whatsoever." Perhaps only two people know the exact details.

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Avon Barksdale

December 15th, 2015 at 1:13 PM ^

"WE HAVE TO HIRE A COACH WHO CAN STOP THE SPREAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Yeah, those are really easy to find. NO ONE IS STOPPING THE SPREAD RIGHT NOW. Alabama can't stop the spread. Ohio State can't stop the spread. Michigan State couldn't stop Baylor or Ohio State last year. We couldn't stop the spread this year. Stanford cannot stop the spread. Do you get my point?

Stopping the spread is not an issue only to Michigan football. The entire country is still trying to discover a way to do it consistently.

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Stringer Bell

December 15th, 2015 at 1:34 PM ^

Yet, Leavitt has a history of it. He was pretty much the only one who could slow down the Rich Rod offense at WVU that obliterated pretty much every other defense. And this was when the spread was far more foreign, and he did it with nowhere near the kind of athletes he could get at Michigan. If we're looking for a guy who could slow down tOSU, I think this is our best bet.

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I dumped the Dope

December 15th, 2015 at 6:19 PM ^

Once Indiana took us to the brink, the blueprint was on film for Meijer to take us to the cleaners.

Durkin appeared to have everything figured out early in the season, and we were essentially winning with defense.  Granted, some key injuries...But we were winning with offense after the midpoint of the season.

I'm all for the coach who can take apart Meijer.

Re: character incidents, if its a personal tendency, then it will surely come up again, and obviously not be tolerated here, Game Over.  But, if a mistake, isolated in the past, which up to this point the path points to this, then I think its not worthy of much more discussion unless you like Drama.

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HarBoSchem

December 15th, 2015 at 2:37 PM ^

I am pretty sure that most students in college are considered adults, save for a few.  Adult things happen to adults.  Maybe I am just a crazy military veteran who thinks that people need to stop being pussies.  If the coach admitted to it and took the blame, then so be it.  I am no lesser of a person for what I did, wish I could take some things back, but woulda, shoulda, coulda is not the way of healthy living.  I turely believe the younger generations feel entitled, so they can treat elders with disrespect and get away with it, but apparently it didn't happen that time.  Fuck this college kid bullshit.  If he's a kid, he wouldn't be playing college football and he wouldn't be in college, because he is a fucking kid.  

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Trader Jack

December 15th, 2015 at 2:55 PM ^

Do the "kid" versus "adult" semantics matter? It was a person being entrusted to the care of someone much older than him, in a position of authority.

Part of the problem, as well, is that Leavitt didn't admit it or take the blame. As a military veteran, I'm sure you understand why people would have a problem with someone who not only didn't take responsibility for his actions, but encouraged others to lie about what happened as well. To be honest, I have a bigger issue with the attempted cover up than I do with the original incident.



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HarBoSchem

December 15th, 2015 at 3:05 PM ^

the "incident" more thoroughly.  If he attempted to hide it and have others lie, then he made a huge mistake.  But 2nd chances are what we as a society were built on.  Should he not be given a second chance as a coach, until he proves otherwise.  And the military aspect of it all, people lie and cheat all of the time to make themselves look better, it's a political game.  Other than combat, garrison is the suck of the world.  

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Trader Jack

December 15th, 2015 at 3:09 PM ^

Sure, he should be given a 2nd chance. And he has, evidenced by the fact that he's still employed. I don't think it's unfair to question whether his past makes him a less than ideal candidate for this particular job, though. There are plenty of other solid options that come without the baggage.



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Trader Jack

December 15th, 2015 at 5:02 PM ^

None of us were standing in the locker room when the incident occurred, so all I can do is make a logical deduction given the evidence presented. Since there is much more evidence than not indicating that Leavitt lied about what happened, at the very least, I'm comfortable making that deduction. His employer at the time, who has more evidence and knowledge of the situation than any of us, said he struck the player and then lied to intentionally hinder the investigation.



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Templeton Peck…

December 15th, 2015 at 10:09 PM ^

I would challenge your belief/assumption that there is more evidence supporting either party. The young man said one thing occurred, Leavitt said something very different. It also appears that both had eyewitnesses supporting their account of the events in question... And then said employer was forced to pay 2.75 million dollars to settle a lawsuit after UCF attempted to try the case in the court of public opinion. Sounds like a defamation settlement to this guy. I'm no lawyer, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night!

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