USF Elevates Wally Burnham to Assistant Head Coach

[USFMikeB]

Since Leavitt doesn't seem to like firing anyone, maybe he should move Rod Smith to secondary and hire an OC...

[BULLfreak]

Leavitt said he still needs to hire a secondary coach= JR Reed?  Seems like a good fit.

JR should be a coach on this staff but let him work his way up do. Do we still have a GA position open? Remember this JR was more of a return man in the NFL not a DB and trust me corner is totally different than playing safety

[USFbulls0208]

Wally is a good coach...even though rick is still a suprise, we'll still do ok

[BigShoop]

strange

Yeah....something's not right here....

I remember a local show here(sports connection on bay news 9) had Kravitz as their special guest in december, I believe it was. He was in great spirits and excited about the future of USF football....etcetcetc.

I cant wait to hear the REAL story, because all signs point towards it being a very interesting one.

PS - aint if funny that every change on the coaching staff this offseason has happened on the defensive side of the ball, and NOT the offensive side? Why not take this opportunity to change up the offense Coach Leavitt? Make  it a clean sweep.

This truly is a PIVOTAL season/offseason in the USF Football program.

[Bishop of Bulltown]

$$$

[Bishop of Bulltown]

My sources also tell me that the woman he is getting married to this week works for a company that's based out of raleigh. This was a major contributing factor, along with the fact that he loved the staff and AD at NC State. He ultimately wants to be a head coach somewhere, and obviously realized this wasn't the place he was going to get it at. I wish him the best, he seems like a really cool guy from what I've been told, wish I would've gotten a chance to meet him.

[Ricky the Bull]

Here's the deal

Leaving Wasn't Easy For USF's Kravitz

By BRETT McMURPHY bmcmurphy@tampatrib.com

Published: Feb 8, 2006

TAMPA - Rick Kravitz expected a life-altering moment Saturday. He just didn't expect two the same week.

Kravitz, who has been the University of South Florida's co-defensive coordinator since the program's inception, accepted a job as safeties coach at N.C. State Monday - exactly five days before his wedding to Joann Howell.

"This is the hardest decision I've made in my professional career," Kravitz said. "I've had a miserable past two or three days thinking about it."

Kravitz, 51, was the first assistant USF coach Jim Leavitt hired a few days after Leavitt became coach on Dec. 12, 1995. Kravitz was one of only three assistants remaining at USF since the first practice in 1996.

Kravitz was among the players' favorite assistants. Even though Kravitz was diagnosed with prostate cancer in July 2004, he delayed his surgery until after the season so he wouldn't inconvenience the team.

"He's a special person," Leavitt said. "There's only one Rick Kravitz. I think [replacing] the emotional part of it is what's so difficult.

"Everyone likes Rick Kravitz. He has such a heart. [His departure] will affect a lot more people than people realize."

Kravitz said he left USF for a chance to coach in the ACC and because his fiancee has a great job opportunity in the pharmaceutical business in the Raleigh, N.C., area. Kravitz turned down N.C. State's first two offers before accepting.

"N.C. State asked 'what would you like' and they met it," Kravitz said. "I felt like I was a high school recruit."

While Kravitz was USF's highest paid assistant, his $104,000 salary ranked as the lowest among the 66 BCS defensive coordinators. Kravitz said he would receive "a lot more" at N.C. State.

"He was the highest paid guy here," Leavitt said. "It's not like I could do a ton more. He's calling the defense here, he won't there. He had the biggest office here, he won't there. I don't think a counteroffer deal was even an issue.

"Sometimes you just need to go, whether it's a better job or not, to stay on edge. Maybe he was influenced by [former USF assistants] Calvin Magee [at West Virginia] and Mike Canales [at Arizona]. He knows his salary would have gone up here and what you have here is security."

Leavitt promoted co-defensive coordinator Wally Burnham to defensive coordinator and assistant head coach Tuesday.

"Coach Kravitz's decision was shocking," senior-to-be linebacker Stephen Nicholas said. "He was a good guy."

"I appreciated everything here," Kravitz said. "Jim was a great adviser and friend. We built this together, to be a part of history.

"I'm proud of where the program has gone. The vision we've had has always been accomplished. We built this on faith. The effort our defense put forth and the whole program is what I'm most proud of. Every time something good happens, you think back to how far we've come. It's very hard to leave."

http://www.tbo.com/sports/bulls/MGBWDJH3FJE.html

[smazza]

we will never know the real reason for these odd turn of events

[Apis Bull]

Didn't you read the article above?

[fbdo79]

#1 Coach Kravitz was a great coach and will be missed by the players and other coaches.

#2 Coach Burnham is a phenomenal coach and the defense won't miss a beat, provided an adequate secondary coach is hired.

I too was hoping that the offseason coaching moves would have been offensively and not defensively.

Don't be surprised if Coach Rachel moves back to coaching defensive backs if Coach Leavitt can't find a good secondary coach.