BullsBucs79

Posted on Tue, Nov. 28, 2006 UM | COACHING SEARCH USF's Leavitt emerges as UM candidate BY SUSAN MILLER DEGNAN sdegnan@MiamiHerald.com The college football coaching carousel is in a dizzying spin, with big names being fired, big names being hired and others just floated out there as possibilities. Concerning the University of Miami opening, for which Rutgers coach Greg Schiano is considered No. 1 on the most wanted list, Texas Tech coach Mike Leach and former Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez declined comment Monday. But University of South Florida coach Jim Leavitt, whose Big East Bulls upset then-No. 7 West Virginia 24-19 on Saturday, spoke -- though he didn't say much. ''I'm not going to talk about the Miami job,'' Leavitt said Monday night by phone, laughing. ``I'm not even going to reply.'' He added: ``I love Florida. I grew up here. I came here in elementary school. All I'm going to say is I'm very fortunate with the job I have, and I love where I'm at.'' Leavitt, who will turn 50 on Dec. 5, grew up in St. Petersburg and built the USF program out of a trailer seven years ago. He has been the only coach the Bulls have had, and his 2005 team, which upset Louisville, was a victory from a BCS spot. USF is 8-4 this season, losing to No. 13 Rutgers by two points. After USF's upset of West Virginia, ABC studio analyst Craig James mentioned Leavitt would be ''a good fit at Miami.'' Freddie Coleman of ESPN radio said Leavitt and Schiano should be the coaches Miami goes after. When Leavitt was asked Monday if there was anything he wanted to say about any subject, he replied, ``I'm happy I have another day living and another day recruiting. Don't you love living in this state? There's nowhere better. ``Another day in paradise, every day we get up.'' Leavitt was reminded that Miami is in Florida, too, and he just laughed. The Tampa Tribune reported that Leavitt's name also has been mentioned in respect to the Alabama opening, as coach Mike Shula was fired Monday. The Tribune said Leavitt, who just finished the first year of a seven-year deal worth $7 million, previously was offered the Alabama job on two occasions and that he turned down a six-year, $9 million contract from Kansas State last November. As for Leach, the Red Raiders coach with the innovative offensive mind, he said, ''I'd rather not,'' when asked through a Texas Tech representative to talk about the UM opening with The Miami Herald. Alvarez, Wisconsin's athletic director, when asked through a spokesman if he would be interested in coaching Miami or had been contacted by the Hurricanes, said, ``I'm happy with the job I currently have. I have not been contacted by anyone at the University of Miami.'' In other UM news, defensive coordinator Randy Shannon was mentioned by at least one Texas radio station as a candidate for defensive coordinator at the University of Texas. Shannon did not answer calls Monday.

Hey Bullbuc, don't know if you realize this but it wasn't the "Bungles" we were playing. It's Cincinnati Bearcats, maybe the fans up their don't watch them, but they've got a decent team. You're acting like they're Temple which is ridiculous, and a lot of other words Brad won't let me say. What about the 38-16 whipping of Uconn, what about the 22-20 loss to #15 ranked Rutgers

you blame coaching smazza blames everything( by the way Steve, our alumni just doesn't have the funds to pay their players like USC dam, $100,000 for a RB wow that is alot of cash) i see a great coaching job taking C-USA talent and being competitive in the BE. perfect by no means but i see a bright future with JL leading the way.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Another genius with all the answers.  I think Brad sends out a beckon that attracts them to this board. Nice contribution S Bien. Never once did that post say any of those points I posted was "the answer". It was just observations, that obviously, a lot of other people have noticed as well. For the most part, except for your articulate comment above, that is what most message boards are for. Keep up the intriguing posts though....maybe next time you can mix in a LOL or TTYL.

Well, actually, you are! Very observant....yes I was. If you want to be specific, yes, I was posting those thoughts after the game Sunday, but what I meant was...it was not just because of Sunday night's game I was saying those things.....they are things that have been going on all season and last season as well.

If you believe this BullsBucs, do you also feel that Rutgars is a poorly coached team ?  They are leading everyone in penalties ? Yes daBull, I do believe this...BUT, if you would have continued reading the entire post, instead of trying to impress everyone with the fact that you can look up stats, you would have probably understood my point. Since you didn't, my point is.....It is not just one of those five points that I highlighted, but all of them together that make USF a poorly coached team. So, do some research and let us all know if Florida or WVU or Rutgars (as you call them), or any other decent team: 1. Has players trying to field and return punts at their own 2 yard line 2. Does not utilize their best running back, but instead, they run their QB until he gets injured. 3. Calls a fake punt down only 9 points with a whole quarter to play in their own territory.

Not just saying this after last night's debacle, but the Cincy game just continued to show what is painfully obvious. A lot of these losses (and near losses to crappy teams) can be attributed to discipline (which is due to bad coaching). Not saying that Leavitt needs to go (yet), but definitely Rod Smith and some others. Here is why USF is a poorly coached team: 1. As ESPN pointed out last night, USF is almost dead last in the nation in penalties. Most of the penalties we get are personal fouls or stupid mistakes. Again, it comes down to discipline, which is due to poor coaching. 2. We received a punt at the 2 yard line!??? Really? I have never played a down in a college football game and I even know that anything past the 10 yard line, you let go. (See note on discipline above). 3. Great play calling....A Fake punt on your own 30 yard line, down 9 points with 14:00 to go? AND it is 4th and 9???? Possibly the worst call in the history of football. Nothing good could have happened on that call. 4. Predictable (and poor) play calling every game. Either sitting in the stands at RJS or watching on TV like last night, myself and everyone around me seem to be able to predict what play is going to be run next. Rod Smith is trying to get Grothe killed. How many times are we going to run the QB during a designed play? That might work against FIU or McNeese St, but wait until WVU, PITT and Louisville and we won't have Grothe for 4 full years. Also, why is it that EVERY TIME on third down and 7 or 8 (or more), the play that is always called is a short pass up the middle or to the flat for 5 yards? Even John Madden knows that you have to catch the ball at or past the first down marker. 5. Not using the best players: Ricky Ponton served his suspension, so why is Leavitt trying to continue to prove a point by a) not starting him and not playing him?? He had a great opening drive once he got in on the second play....where was he the rest of the game? 9 rushes for 38 yards? Most of those yards were on the first drive. The bottom line is that Rod Smith has got to go NOW and it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for Leavitt to go as well. Yes, he has been a great coach to start this program and there is no disputing that what he has done with this program in the short years it has been around is nothing short of amazing, but it might be time to get someone new in here. It might be a situation like the Bucs had with Dungy....GREAT guy, great coach, who laid a solid foundation, but just time for someone else to come in and take the team to the next level. Pretty embarrassing showing in front of the 2,000 fans in attendance last night and the millions (after the third quarter, 10) fans that were watching around the nation on ESPN.

Heading over to the game Saturday....any suggestions on good places to park that are close to that horrible stadium, but far enough away to not get stuck in 3 hour traffic after the game? I have been there before for bowl games, but have never parked near the stadium. Hopefully the crowd (especially USF) will be big enough to worry about traffic..