Orlando Bull

I have heard him say multiple times "men and women" when talking about hiring his staff... I wonder if he has a woman assistant in mind that he is planning to bring in? He seems very consistent in saying it. I know there have been several in the NFL, haven't heard about it too much in the college ranks.

Just now, belgianbull said:

Didn't see today's presser, but did see the youtube video where he discussed his coaching philosophy. No doubt that he is an impressive guy. Only time will tell whether he can be successful here. I am still a doubter but hope he is successful. However whether I am convinced at this point is irrelevant; it will be interesting to see whether he can convince players not to go into the transfer portal. If he is able to keep our main players that will a good first step.

I think some of this is relative... I don't see Jimmy Horn staying with offers from Penn State, Colorado, T A&M... I think he will take the step up and move on. Only thing that could possibly convince him is that he's better off staying here and being the star rather than leaving and being WR4 somewhere. Probably all depends on the offers these guys get. If they like CAG and don't like their offers, they may stay.

I was glad he didn't do the whole "we're going to build through recruiting, not the portal" think that Scott did... Find the best players, wherever you can, and coach them up to play at their best.

27 minutes ago, widerberg said:

I'm gonna quote myself, because why not. I retract my knee jerk reaction to this hire. Coach A isn't splashy, but after doing some reading on him, seeing the video released of him talking to the team, etc., I think he's a good fit and I think he can take us where we need to go.

At the same time, after seeing the video of Deion talking to the CU team, good lord I think we dodged a bullet on that one. I'm all about setting a tone of excellence on day one, but basically trashing the whole existing team and telling them you hope they all hit the transfer portal because that's more room for his guys, ****, what a great way to lose the team. Not exactly classy.

I wonder if that was some of the rumored "control" Deion wanted... "Can I cut everyone?"

36 minutes ago, ClassOf2005Bull said:

I was wondering the same thing, b/c he said it was someone he tried to hire 2x's before. I guessing it may have been a situation where the HC asked him to reach out to gauge interest - I'm guessing it's someone he has a personal relationship with.

Maybe he has had HC interviews in the past and was trying to assemble a staff in case he got the job... could have even been this cycle... Like "nah man, I'm good, Cinci is not somewhere I would ever want to live"... but since AG is in Tampa, it's a little different story.

On the bright side, there is a better chance that Byrum Brown sticks around. 

My choices would be... Leavitt, Diaz... then... who is the best HS coach in the bay area? I'm sick of the hot up and coming name, find someone with local connections and Xs and Os smarts. Save some money, and focus on football, not a perceived good hire. Not sold on Chadwell. Remember, Malzahn started coaching HS, just find someone who can evaluate and maximize talent. This is what Leavitt did, and it was our best Era. 

5 minutes ago, Brad said:

Except facts disagree with you. Prior to his firing - in the BIG EAST - we had 8 & 9 wins/season final four years, not one season, four.

And in his last year, we lost our QB in week 2. What a chain reaction it was when Grothe's knee blew up. I think that season would have been special, Leavitt wouldn't have been fired, and God only knows where USF football would be... (Hint, it definitely wouldn't be the cellar).

11 minutes ago, Mango028 said:

I think people are looking at this all wrong. Deion will never come to usf…is the exact reason why he should and very very real possibility is coming. Deion knows he is being offered mid level low level opportunities because he is not a proven concept yet. He has to prove he can recruit on national stage at the next level up. He has to prove he can do what he just did. He seems up to the challenge. This is the only way he ends up at fsu or another big school down the road. It will not be just handed to him. In my opinion cincinatti and colorado don’t make the same impact for him or provide him the pathway to prove his concept the way we can. We are his stepping stone. 

I don't think he has to prove he can recruit, I think that is a given... he needs to prove that he can COACH. CWT could recruit and in the AAC, if you out-talent everyone, you can win a lot of games. At JSU, Prime has been able to recruit and has more talent than anyone on their schedule. What happens if/when he goes to FSU for example and he's pulling in top 15 recruiting classes, but he's playing Clemson, UF, UM, etc every year? Can he coach? Can he take that talent and beat equal talent with it? That is the thing he needs to prove. Unfortunately, most schools don't let you jump there without some steps and we can be that step... then, we need to pull for Norvell to win so that FSU doesn't open up for him.

This is the CWT vs Leavitt debate which you think CWT was better. Leavitt could coach lesser talent up to play even when they were over-matched. CWT had more talent and when he got out of their way, they won any time they had more talent. If they were equally matched with someone or over-matched, he couldn't bridge the gap. Both kinds of coaches can win and do well, the recruiter type just needs stud assistants more than the true coach type.

2 minutes ago, GreenBull93 said:

Is there any chance that the sticking point for Deion wanting more control over the program was that he wanted final say for his choice of assistants, namely for his choice for DC (CJL)?  

That is an interesting thought, I don't know that Deion and CJL have crossed paths, but maybe he wants to explore that option and needs the admin to say they are OK with it. I would love to have CJL back as HC, I don't think I want him to take this job as a coordinator. It just feels wrong. 

1 minute ago, USFBulls12 said:

Yes. I think if you want to signal to other available coaches that you still very much have a vacancy and are open to anyone, you need to clear the air of Deion having your attention. Put out a release that you're no longer in talks with him.

I don't disagree, but... colorado... wouldn't they be doing the same thing if Prime was coming here?

1 minute ago, Ghostbuster said:

What was 3 days ago

The moment we started panicking 

Pretty sure that was 3 days ago, where you been?

Is it possible that he actually is giving us a clue? The tree is horribly decorated... but... green and gold balls are clustered at the top, further down, mostly garnet and gold are clustered.

Option 2- is that the old goat-bull logo on his belt? His he bringing back the guy that coached when that was our logo?

Option 3 - there is a fire alarm and he knows that we fans are going to burn the place to the ground if he screws this up.

5 minutes ago, Brad said:

I figured you as a Taggart guy, with the join date of 2016.  Not to offend, but that one season (with likely the greatest combination of talent we've ever had) seemed to mean so much more to more recent fans than actually playing a BCS schedule with unknown "two and three star" guys that had to bust their ass.  And also beating a lot of top teams.   Anyway, as many do argue, Tags benefitted from talent and a lighter conference and schedule.  It was talent he attracted, no one can take that away.  It aided Charlie too. I think Leavitt was a far better coach.  We'll disagree on that.

Really wish I could find the article on the pool for assistant coach salaries, Holtz got like 100% more than Leavitt. Forget what he did with lesser players, he was also handcuffed with being able to hire competent assistants for much of his time here because the admin didn't support him financially. 

Just now, bulloni said:

are all historical coaches up there

Yes, but it's weird that USF has rebuilt this website like 50 times since CJL was here... why is this still there?

So... clearly this is the easiest thing to do, just bring CJL home and the web site is already good to go.

https://gousfbulls.com/staff-directory/jim-leavitt/119

So... to summarize, we don't know anything, but, if VPMK just lets this play out long enough, we'll all be so emotionally spent that we'll be happy that it's over... then we can tell ourselves, "well, he was dealt a dumpster fire, we didn't expect much" in year 1... then in year 2 "I can see some positive stuff", then in year 3 "here we go again".

Is that pretty much the roller coaster we're on now. Let's not let our emotions stop us from holding VPMK accountable for this hire from Day 1. At the end of the day, if Deion turns us down, who gives fans the most excitement and is most likely to pour everything they have into this program?

For me, it's Leavitt. (sure, Stoops, Meyer, the ghost of Don Shula, but realistically... Leavitt)

20 minutes ago, Bull Awakening said:

Plus CJL rehire is probably a short term thing. Maybe 3 to 4 seasons and everyone rides off into the sunset happy 

This was my original thought right after Scott was fired... Make it a longer term deal on paper, but have an agreement with Leavitt to retire if things don't go well. The reality is that anyone we hire is likely a short term thing, either they are great and get poached, or they are terrible and we have to fire them... I guess conceivably, there is a coach out there that could be middling that we would hang on to, but in this conference, with the talent in this state, there is no reason we should settle for less than double digit wins every other year at least.

If I am VPMK, I am doing some back door deal with CJL, 2 years, come back, help raise money for the stadium, then... if you're not successful (bowl in year 2), retire and get a huge ceremony when the stadium opens.

1 minute ago, Bull94 said:

Tell me is Leavitt a coach on the upward trajectory of his career?

Charlie strong has a far more impressive resume. Doesn't mean I want him back.

Generally old coaches have better resumes than young coaches.

What does that even mean? Is Saban on the upward trajectory of his career? Would you take him? How about Urban Meyer, he is currently unemployed after being fired from his last job.

Leavitt's name got tarnished by some BS that happened here, at that moment, his "upward trajectory" was done. It has nothing to do with his ability to coach. I don't know what would happen if we hired him, I don't know if we would go 11-1 or 1-11, but I have a gut feeling it would be better than 1-11. I also know that 6-6 with Leavitt is better than 7-5 with Jeff Scott 2.0 with this program because Leavitt creates interest, which creates donors, which builds the foundation to get to something better. I would be happy with Deion. Chadwell doesn't really move the needle for me. Deion and Leavitt are equal to me. There are no guarantees with anyone for on-field success, but anything is better than where we have been, so that is kind of a moot point. Those guys generate interest and that is important in the current landscape of college football. Just as important as x's and o's.

And to your point, if I was a Cinci fan, I would unequivocally want Deion over Leavitt, but I am not, I am a USF fan and Leavitt means something here that he doesn't mean anywhere else.

8 minutes ago, Bull94 said:

It wasn't random. it's been happening. He saw a steady decline in the jobs he was offered.

honestly he rode Taggart's coat tails from Oregon to FSU and then to FAU

He had a good career. He is 66. It's time to retire.

You do know he was SMU's DC last year right? That was his most recent job, not with Tags. The guy is well respected as a defensive coach.

11 minutes ago, Bull94 said:

No I appreciate what he did here. Unfortunately time has passed him by. It happens to all of us.

If I told you(without knowing his name) we were hiring FAU's former DC that is currently unemployed people on here would go ballistic.

Now do "Former NFL assistant, Oregon DC, has Power Conference HC experience and a winning record, and is available" without a name... that sounds pretty OK to me.

Quite honestly, without a name, it's not much worse than FCS HC experience, great record, only 3 years in coaching... again, without a name, this resume doesn't look too much better than the first I laid out.

Add to it that you're going to be the second guy double what you'd have to pay the first guy.

2 minutes ago, Cpa_bull1990 said:

Any offer to Chadwell would NOT be contingent on Deion accepting our job. That is not how these coaching hires work and would be unprofessional. 

I really don't want Leavitt back. He would not have the same success as he did the first time. That ship has sailed.

I am all for hiring Chadwell at this point.

I love how people speak in absolutes like this. What exactly makes you so certain that Leavitt would not have success? And... by some people's standards, he never actually achieved success the first time. He has continued to be a successful coach after leaving USF, not a HC, but he has been coaching pretty much non-stop and has done well. I don't buy that he "can't relate" to kids any more. Maybe his style is different, but his style is more like Saban than some others... Saban still does just fine with his crotchety personality. At the end of the day, athletes want someone who helps them achieve their maximum talent level.

Another question to ponder... has ANYONE ELSE had the success that Leavitt did the first time? So, we should automatically assume that the guy that did it, can't do it again, but someone else can?

5 minutes ago, ForestBull said:

If Kelly strikes out on both he would have to beg CJL to save his ass right?

This is what we would all hope. I would actually be happy if we skipped all of the drama and just went that route. BUT, there are plenty of other people out there... He could just give it to De Prado, or give another run to CWT, or hire a high school coach. I would love to think that Leavitt is the backup plan, but I suspect it will be something extremely disappointing for us.

2 minutes ago, FatDaddyBull said:

Reports like the ones from Kevin O'Connell are annoying me. His 2 recent tweets:

-Deion's choosing between Colorado, Cincy and USF. 

-Then says USF offered Chadwell the job yesterday.

It can't be both. USF isn't trying to land Deion and offering the job to another person at the same time. Seems like he's throwing **** at the wall hoping something sticks.

Exactly... Unless the offer to Chadwell was contingent on Deion turning us down... in which case, do you really want a job that you're the backup plan for?

The other option is that Deion has already turned us down, but from his side is keeping our name out there as leverage for other jobs and we have moved on. Even all the "demand" stuff... when he "settles" for less (but still a lot of) control at another school, they will feel good that they didn't get raked over the coals the way he wanted to do to us.

Only time will tell, but it is a bit annoying and brings me full circle to how colossal of an error it was to fire CJL. If we had kept him, we could be in a better conference, and probably succession planning right now instead of scrambling to find some relevance.

OK, forget about all the sources... If I were Deion, I would think that my eyes are on FSU as my ultimate prize. For this reason alone, we're the best fit. For one, in our conference and with our low expectations, he could walk in and make a splash, get us going and be the most coveted coach in America when that dream job opens. He would also be building his Florida recruiting connections.

The other schools have a harder schedule and/or higher expectations. Cincy for instance could be a spot that hurts more than helps. They have had success under Fickell, so they have high expectations, they are also jumping into a new conference, so those expectations may not meet reality.

Not that Coach Prime isn't up for a challenge, but it's only worth it if he sees himself at one of these schools for the long haul. Colorado may be great and they will be thrilled with a 9-4 record, but when you're recruiting out west and rarely getting to double digit wins, are you really at the top of the list for FSU if and when that job comes available? Of course, Norvell could be there a while, seems like he is doing well and they should be happy with him, but we all know how that works. If Coach Prime comes here and turns us around, the allure of him moves the goal posts a bit for Norvell.

In any event, this is awful. I need some closure one way or another. Maybe VPMK is all in on Sanders and if he turns us down, it gives him solid ammo to go and make the call to CJL.