Orlando Bull

2 hours ago, Bull94 said:

I thought Frank Gore was a boxer? Where is he coaching?

McKenzie is barely established as a coach. He went from Inside Linebackers coach at Detroit under matt Patricia to Outside Linebackers coach at Miami after being fired at detroit.

Larry Scott runs the 58th ranked offense in fcs.

not sure why people think if we just get former players here as a coach then that automatically means we will be successful.

take the fact away that they played here and people would be up in arms if we hired a boxer, an outside linebackers coach at miami for dc and the HC from the 58th ranked offense in the fcs as an oc.

McKenzie has been coaching at various levels since 2013, basically his entire adult non-playing life. He coached in college or NFL starting in 2015. Leavitt is a DC at heart, I know as a HC he would have other duties, but, it's not like McKenzie would be completely on an island with a defense, he has a guy that is pretty good at it to draw from. I also suspect that the pay would be slightly more than NFL position coach, but not so if we were to try and hire him as a position coach.

A "boxer" who is one of the greatest to ever play the game. Can Gore coach? Who knows, would his name help in recruiting? ABSOLUTELY. Also, why do you think he's a boxer? I would guess that it's the same reason he played so long... the guy cannot stop competing. He doesn't have an off switch, which generally equates to ridiculous passion and pursuit of perfection. Sounds like a guy that could make a great coach to me.

Quite honestly, I disagree that anyone would be up in arms over Leavitt as HC with Gore as RB coach... I think people would feel pretty good about that.

10 hours ago, Dave_Glaser said:

What brought down our football program was that the early success led our leadership to believe it was easy and they didn’t need to invest in the program because they were getting good results on a shoestring. Yes, with thanks to Jim. They had a misguided picture of what kind of resources it took and it has backfired in a huge way.

I agree with this, but there was more going on behind the scenes as it related to CJL IMO. Like they knew what was needed, but someone wanted Leavitt out for a while. I always harp on the salary pool for assistants, but it's amazing that after Leavitt, they found nearly double the money... almost like someone was trying to handcuff him, force a couple of losing seasons so they could fire him. He just kept winning though, so another avenue had to be found. 

13 hours ago, Brad said:

I looked into my evidence folder, here is what @FazaUSF was referring to.  This came from the investigation notes and was published in the Tampa paper.

Where' there's smoke, conceal it!  Unnerving.

Mr. Besterfield might have been a little suspicious of the situation, may have known a little more...we'll never know.

Besterfield was a good dude. Had him for my intro to engineering class freshman year. Always will remember him telling us to look to our left, then to our right and recognize that if we made it through, those 2 people probably wouldn't. He was in El Paso for the Sun Bowl, would have to assume he was a big supporter of the program.

Age could be a concern, not for recruiting though in my opinion. Anyone interested in USF will see what Leavitt did here and it won't be a negative thing with him being back. As I stated originally, I think it also has to have a timeline tied to it, maybe something semi-flexible, but what we COULDNT do is have to fire CJL for performance. So, it would be a 3-year deal in reality, no matter what it says on paper. If everyone is not 100% thrilled with the direction of things, CJL would agree to retire with dignity and stay on in some capacity to help the program. If in 3-years, he's winning and everyone wants him to stay, then by all means, keep it going. In my fantasy scenario, that is likely the only factor that could hold CJL back, he would have to agree to that condition which could be hard for him.

Also, if given decent resources, I think he could build a great staff at this point between former players and his other coaching stops. If anything, his coaching staffs held him back in the late 00's, specifically on the offensive side. Those offenses could have been a lot better than they were. I think it had a lot to do with $$$ as evidence by the University ponying up for Holtz's staff when he was hired. But, Leavitt also was young when he got here, probably didn't have the contacts that he has now.

My first call would be to Frank Gore, RB coach (Leavitt likely knows him from his time in San Fran). Not only is he a HoF RB, from Miami, but his kid is at Southern Miss now and one would think that Sr. had some involvement in his high school development and recruiting process, giving him some South Florida contacts. Tyrone McKenzie has been coaching in the NFL, wonder if he would make the move as a DC with Leavitt helping him there.  Larry Scott could come home as OC and HC in waiting.

So... who could Leavitt recruit at his age? A hell of a coaching staff.

2 minutes ago, Triple B said:

Yeah, uh no. Kind of hard to really compare the two without seeing the vid of Jim’s total interaction but there’s no screen shot of Norvell’s exchange that would compare to that one of Jim. 

OK, but are was talking about Norvell being capable of losing his temper, or this

Quote

This says a lot about Mike Norvell. He cares about his players, he cares about the culture

So, when Leavitt gets in a players face, he's a lunatic, when Norvell does it, he cares? The major reason it looks different is because Leavitt is a big man (or at least was at the time), he didn't look like the player could kill him immediately if he wanted to where Norvell is pretty non-threatening physically. And yes, Norvell didn't grab the player, but he yelled at him once, then followed him to do it again. Still, maybe he doesn't grab the player because it's 2022 and the norms have shifted... and the aforementioned physical differences.  By the way, I am in the camp that agrees with what Norvell did, I don't think he was wrong at all, but I also don't think that 15 years ago, living by 15-years ago standards, that Leavitt was wrong, even by the snap shot evidence.

Hopefully new hire happens soon, but not coaching the rest of the season, maybe sit in and evaluate the current staff, but their primary goal should be recruiting, meeting with players, and assembling a staff. This season is over, it doesn't do us any good to have a new coach coming in and trying to bend to the current staff and systems, they should get the opportunity to start fresh when they take over the actual on-field duties.

16 hours ago, zarnozdabull said:

Some actually believe this guy was incapable of being an untouchable hothead. 

Meanwhile, Mike Norvell did this same thing last weekend and was applauded for his leadership and teaching. But by all means, carry on.

https://twitter.com/FSU_Barstool/status/1589084912627625986?t=tED-hmWmctJw49V8q6tEJA&s=19

1 hour ago, TRUTH D. Antagonist said:

if Da ‘Shaft is *STILL* bumsore over what SHE did to Leavitt 15 years ago to the point of withholding donations to the University or USF athletics then she’s not the woman USF alum remember.

as a former STUDENT I think of Judy as a top notch academic administrator who improved not just the quality of my education but the VALUE of my degree from the University of South Florida. 

looking back the only negative I can remember from my time there as a student & subsequent season ticket holder was her firing of CJL— a firing which had more support than it should (from myself as well, sadly) have because TBH it was REALLY just a bogus cover for dumping a coach who couldn’t quite get to 10 wins.

it would be the height of pettiness for her to hold a grudge against Jim 15 years later when she wasn’t even the alleged “victim” of the so-called incident.

i hope Judy is better than that.

All of this is quite true and logical, but some people only have power as a currency. USF bringing Leavitt back would be an indictment on her handling of the situation. It would be an admission that it was the wrong move and by association a bad decision by her. Can she take that punch to her ego? At this point... WHO CARES!

She may be a top-5 donor only because she tore down a program that could generate more donors. She did a lot for USF, I don't want to minimize that, but if this is something that kills her relationship with USF, so be it. People make mistakes, she and Woolard made a huge one with their handling of Leavitt. At some point, egos can't continue to control the situation.

2 minutes ago, El_Toro_86 said:

Going over top 5 candidates 

These guys just said on their radio show that Gruden is #1 and boosters are willing to fork over the $$$ - my initial reaction to this   For the love of God please don’t hire Jon Gruden

Next on the list is Willie Simmons at FAMU, followed by OC at App state and DC at Troy with Frost at #5

Of all these, Willie Simmons would be my choice

 

If Gruden's baggage can even be considered this day in age, NO one can tell me that Leavitt is untouchable because of his "baggage".

By the way, not sure why this thread is still going. Only 1 answer, bring Jim Leavitt home.

Regarding Taggart... I think the issue with comparing him to Leavitt is that Taggart never won without Flowers. Flowers was the best QB we have ever had in my opinion. I loved Grothe and he did some crazy things for us, but I have never seen anyone more clutch and able to put the team on their back than Q. If Tags had stayed and kept winning, he would get more credit. As it stands, he pretty much failed as he moved up. He also was not a great x's and o's coach in my opinion. He was a fantastic recruiter and in our conference, that would take him a long way. I respect what he did here and wouldn't be pissed if he was hired back, but it also wouldn't be a home run. Some people would like it, others wouldn't, would he be able to recreate what he did here?

Leavitt on the other hand won with Pat Julmiste at QB. He adapted his teams to the talent he had, with a ridiculously low bag of cash for decent assistant coaches. When we had Andre Hall, we were a run-first team. Blackwell, Grothe, and BJD got different offenses. Through all of that, his defenses were always near the top-30. You never saw people running away from our guys. I remember laughing at WVU because they said we couldn't keep up with their "speed". Laughing at UCF when OLeary tried to kill that RB by giving him 47 carries per game and they thought he would run all over us (that was the 62-12 year). His defenses didn't get embarrassed.

1 hour ago, slick1ru2 said:

The school had to pay him million plus another coach millions it’s not happening

By your argument, we should infer that Leavitt tampered with the investigation because BMM reported it, we should take it one step further and infer that he was guilty because he tampered... BUT... under no circumstance should we infer that USF did some shady-sh** and that is why they had to settle with Leavitt rather than letting his lawsuit play out... since they were so up and up, wouldn't it have been better for the University to show that in the public eye rather than settle?

Are we really going to say that Taggarts 10 wins in the AAC are "better" than Leavitts 9 wins in a BCS conference? Just trying to get the lay of the land. And if wins, no matter the opponent, are the benchmark, then CCS should be considered the best coach we have ever had. 

22 minutes ago, BiggTipp said:

 

Why is it he has not been a HC anywhere else? My thought is two-fold. He doesn't want to be a HC or no school wants to bring him on as a HC with the past being what it is (regardless of the truth).

 

I think it's option 2 here. I believe that he and Cristobal were the finalists at Oregon, but they went with Mario. I suspect anyone who were to hire him in this day of cancel culture just sees it as being too much of a hassle. USF is the place that can set that right. 

I believe that he absolutely wants another shot at being a HC, or at least did. Maybe at his age, if southwest south Dakota technical college called, he may turn it down, but I don't think he would turn USF down. 

If we're doing metaphors, we are all drug addicts, Leavitt is that friend who can help, who has tried to help, who can get us clean again, but we have shut him out, if we let him in, if we let him help us, we could beat this affliction and get our lives together. 

7 minutes ago, Dave_Glaser said:

Stop, please. You and others are just setting yourselves up for disappointment.

I'm sorry, do you not think that the people on this board can handle some "disappointment"... it's all we have known for years, we can handle it. But in all honesty, it shouldn't be a pipe dream. It makes perfect sense. If you want to get some donors and help fund a stadium, that is the play. Most likely it turns out in winning games, but there would be a retirement agreement in my plan with CJL if he can't get it back on track. A retirement plan that lets him go out with dignity and a place on the USF mantle.

Everything else is a crapshoot at best and a Jeff Scott level disaster at worst.

20 hours ago, Brad said:

And my anger over the years has been about my alma mater and how they handled that "situation".  I was so ashamed, so negative and so disconnected from USF because of it.  Selfishly speaking, it's just the fact that this powerful institution could right the wrong and show some ******* decency, contrition and interest in the rest of us.  It would be spectacular.   Afterall, they try to teach us all to do the same.  They broke ethical norms.  I thought MK was not cut from the same mold.  I thought he'd at least find a way three years ago.  He didn't. CJL was hoping for it, this I know.  Final chance to fix the program, the University and the fans.  If we pass on this time, we'll NEVER do it right.  Inviting him back at your pleasure when he's 80 years old is no good.  ******* end this nightmare.  Don't continue to make it worse.

100% this. I can't tell you how many times over the year when watching us get pummeled by everyone we play that I think back to that decision and the huge implications it has had. Who know how conference realignment would have gone, but we would have been in a better spot with Leavitt. Here we are 13 years later and I still can't get over it. It has absolutely tainted my opinion of and my involvement in USF from that moment on. Of course, I have gotten married, started a family, etc, so it wouldn't be exactly the same for me, but I know I would genuinely have some pride again win or lose on the field if they bring Leavitt back. 

Have you guys seen those Joe Biden "I did that" stickers at the gas pumps? I feel like we need one of those with McMurphy pointing to our record. His impact to this program lives on and he relishes the opportunity to point out our ineptitude.

You have to be kidding me. 2 drive killer penalties and we let them recover from both. Terrible. 

Definitely in a zone defense, guys aren't reacting well, and we're not really able to get any pressure on the QB (or missing him when we do). All around bad. 

1 minute ago, MaBull said:

The More I’m watching the more I’m convinced they don’t have athletes on defense which is really Astonishing

This is the hard part to stomach, even with less talent and instinct, there is no reason we're not able to recruit speed and athletes. 

1 minute ago, bowman1 said:

How is it Weaver’s fault if he is running wide open on a crossing route and Marsh throws behind him?

None of us will know, but sometimes receivers responsibility is to settle down in a zone, if man coverage, keep moving. If QB and WR aren't on the same page, hard to make good things happen. 

2 minutes ago, Sk00b said:

Definitely wasn't a fumble

Probably true, but with them hurrying up, we needed a timeout anyway. Only hope is to steal a possession or 2 somewhere

Should have challenged the play before the TD, think it may have actually been a fumble, but it's really just more showing faith in your guys. You have 6 guys out there signaling our ball, just throw the flag and tell them you have faith in them. Houston obviously trying to go fast there. We have been terrible against quick offenses all year. 

1 minute ago, Rex Havoc said:

Our corners are so bad. Receivers open by 10 plus yards game after game. What the hell are they even doing 

I feel like if you can't cover, you should be able to play some kind of zone to at least stop guys from getting behind you right? Not sure that a man defense is our thing, but it seems nothing is on defense. Need a good coordinator and some serious recruiting on that side of the ball if Scott is getting another year.