Jim Leavitt article on 247 sports.

[Gismo]

Firing Jim was wrong and based on lies. It was a smear campaign against him.

I thought this was know here on the Bulls pen among those who were fans prior to his termination. 

Really horrible how long time colleagues turned on him. 

He was hands down one of the best head coaches in college football in my opinion. I forget if it was 2007 or 2008, but I recall 7 players were drafted, which was second for all of college football that year. 

Everyone on the team gave 100%, then somehow another 10%. The players never looked uninspired. 

We also were top 5 for longest streak of bowl seasons. 

Yeah, other coaches in the conference had figured out Jim's weaknesses, but we never lost or struggled with out-of-conference powder puffs, and the team was always fired up and playing to the peak of their abilities when we were big underdogs. We had national attention for big upsets year after year (except that one time against Oregon). 

If Leavitt was not fired I believe we'd have at least one conference championship by now and have seen more nationally recognized defenses. 

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All that said, I think USF and Jim are far better off going their own ways. A P5 is probabaly better for Leavitt, he can never have that same fire he had for USF after being betrayed. What once was can never return. Wishing to go back to the past is just a sad delusion for both Jim and USF. We can keep our fond memories of him without turning on him for not winning the conference. 

Edited December 6, 2018 by Gismo

[206BULL]

2 hours ago, Gismo said:

Firing Jim was wrong and based on lies. It was a smear campaign against him.

I thought this was know here on the Bulls pen among those who were fans prior to his termination. 

Really horrible how long time colleagues turned on him. 

He was hands down one of the best head coaches in college football in my opinion. I forget if it was 2007 or 2008, but I recall 7 players were drafted, which was second for all of college football that year. 

Everyone on the team gave 100%, then somehow another 10%. The players never looked uninspired. 

We also were top 5 for longest streak of bowl seasons. 

Yeah, other coaches in the conference had figured out Jim's weaknesses, but we never lost or struggled with out-of-conference powder puffs, and the team was always fired up and playing to the peak of their abilities when we were big underdogs. We had national attention for big upsets year after year (except that one time against Oregon). 

If Leavitt was not fired I believe we'd have at least one conference championship by now and have seen more nationally recognized defenses. 

------

All that said, I think USF and Jim are far better off going their own ways. A P5 is probabaly better for Leavitt, he can never have that same fire he had for USF after being betrayed. What once was can never return. Wishing to go back to the past is just a sad delusion for both Jim and USF. We can keep our fond memories of him without turning on him for not winning the conference. 

Maybe class of 09 (2010 draft)? Off the top of my head it had JPP, C-Mitch, Selvie, Nate Allen and Jerome Murphy. I'm sure there were a couple more in forgetting. There were probably a few in T-Mac and Jenkins' draft class, although I still cant believe Trae William's didnt get drafted. 

[Gismo]

Looks like I was off, in 2010  five players were drafted, I must have got the other number from post draft signings. 

[TRUTH D. Antagonist]

listen, if Mike Leech got another head coaching spot not long after locking players in a hot utility shed (or whatever, I think that was it), with the school that fired him even expressing interest in bringing him back, & Greg O'Liar worked a player to death & got to keep his job, there's no reason CJL shouldn't get a shot at another HC position.

It's been nearly a decade. the guy has been positional coach in the NFL & at "Power 5" schools since. he has a solid football resume at multiple levels in multiple capacities, even building a once BCS school to #2 in the nation. whether or not he slapped a player for playing like **** or talked to witnesses to *get the story straight*, there were & still are enough conflicting accounts of the incident, not to mention USF settled with him financially after the proverbial dust had settled, that this is just not a reason to keep him relegated to the blacklist.

should he come back to USF? probably not. it's like a marriage that ends in an ugly divorce. tensions have cooled after years apart, u see each other again years later & for some reason that original spark from when u first met comes back, but getting married again most likely isn't going to work. 

USF's next head coach needs to be a young (mid-30s-ish), charismatic, enthusiastic guy that can relate to his players & is willing to tailor his philosophy to the talent on the field...... turning back the clock isn't going to work here & perpetual 8-4, 9-3 seasons isn't what this program needs, either. CCS' 7-5 record this season with a hot start & late season free fall was as Jim Leavitt as it gets & a significant portion of the fan base has been waving its pitchforks for months, only holding back from dumping kerosene on their torches by Gilbert's hiring at McNeese.

CJL is never coming back & USF is stuck with Chuck Strong for the foreseeable future. the only thing Kelly & the University can do is urge him to be adaptable & surround himself with forward-thinking young assistants that are students of the modern game, a game that is passing many of the older coaches by, coaches who cling to their long resume of experience aka "well it worked for me 10 years ago at _____".

let's all wish Charlie success. let's all pray (literally or metaphorically depending on your spiritual leanings) that he adapts, that he uses this opportunity to let go of what worked in the past & open up his coaching philosophy for the sake of his legacy (or, maybe, as an audition for a P5 job). at this point what does he have to lose?

& if you're going to write letters to Kelly, cut the "fire Strong" **** & instead urge him to keep his eyes on young, innovative OC's & DC's so he can be ready to pounce the minute CCS is gone.

 

/TL;DR

[TRUTH D. Antagonist]

8 hours ago, 206BULL said:

Maybe class of 09 (2010 draft)? Off the top of my head it had JPP, C-Mitch, Selvie, Nate Allen and Jerome Murphy. I'm sure there were a couple more in forgetting. There were probably a few in T-Mac and Jenkins' draft class, although I still cant believe Trae William's didnt get drafted. 

Trae was drafted by the Jags 5th round, 159 pick in 2008.

dont think he ever played in the league tho.

[206BULL]

1 hour ago, TRUTH D. Antagonist said:

Trae was drafted by the Jags 5th round, 159 pick in 2008.

dont think he ever played in the league tho.

**** forgot about that. He got cut almost instantly and was on the Eagles practice squad for a couple years. I just remembered it as a UDFA but those were my drunken college years so 05-08 is a blur.

Edited December 6, 2018 by 206BULL

[TRUTH D. Antagonist]

20 minutes ago, 206BULL said:

**** forgot about that. He got cut almost instantly and was on the Eagles practice squad for a couple years. I just remembered it as a UDFA but those were my drunken college years so 05-08 is a blur.

we've all had those drunken college years. the Jenk & Trae defense was the pinnacle of those years for me, too (except I was more than just drunk LOL).

i think the ultimate verdict on Trae was that he was a very solid second corner opposite Jenk in college, but racked up his (I believe) NCAA-leading interception stats primarily off the fact that opposing offenses avoided throwing at Jenk like the plague.

while this made for a solid college career & Trae certainly deserves credit for being a good enough player to capitalize & parlayed that into getting drafted & spending several years bouncing from NFL practice squad to practice squad, it simply wasn't enough to get him on the field for any actual games.

loved him while he was here tho.

[Ned A Starr RIP]

On 12/5/2018 at 1:13 PM, CousinRicky said:

We will never know.

Very true, but he wasn’t exactly on track to win the conference in his last couple of years.  National Championships....Pipe dreams.

[NewEnglandBull]

Jimbo getting closer....

 

[Brad]

I hope he doesn’t get it.

Back on the divorce scenario/break up with girlfriend...

I don’t want to see him HCing with another program.

Hell hath no fury....