Jim Leavitt, the first coach in USF football history and the man who built the program from the ground-up, is headed to the Superbowl.
Shortly after his departure from the University of South Florida, Leavitt was hired as the linebackers coach for the San Francisco 49ers. He has flourished under Jim Harbaugh’s direction since that time, and in only his second season with the team he will have his players competing for the most coveted prize in professional football.
Leavitt’s success in the NFL will have many USF fans rooting for the 49ers this weekend. However, his success has also lead to those same fans wondering what might have been had Leavitt been allowed to stick around, and where the USF football program might be today had he never been fired.
The controversy surrounding Leavitt’s removal is well known. An investigation launched by the school found that he had grabbed former Bulls wide receiver Joel Miller by the throat, slapped him in the face and then lied about doing so. Leavitt continually denied the allegations brought against him, but ultimately USF President Judy Genshaft and Athletic Director Doug Woolard found that they had all the evidence they needed to let him go.
Despite the documented backtracking of Miller and his father, who at one point told reporters that Leavitt did not hit his son but rather grabbed him by the shoulder pads in an attempt to motivate him, it is not necessarily hard to believe that this sort of coaching style is up Leavitt’s alley.
Even with the findings of the investigation, many USF fans look back fondly on Leavitt’s time with the program. Leavitt is a primary reason for why the USF Bulls are playing Division I football today. His leadership helped to move the program up from independent to Conference USA to the Big East.
Under Leavitt, USF enjoyed the fastest ascension into the top 25 rankings from entry into I-A/Football Championship Subdivision in NCAA history as well as many other records and firsts. So what if he had stayed?
There is simply no way to relate in definite terms what Leavitt might have accomplished had he stayed. After three disappointing seasons under Skip Holtz, and the relative uncertainty that comes with any new coach such as Willie Taggart, it’s easy to see why USF fans yearn for the better days of huge home wins over West Virginia and a No. 2 national ranking.
Many fans think if Leavitt were coach today, USF would almost certainly be out of the debacle that is the current Big East conference and into a more stable conference such as the Big 12 Conference. At the very least, the program would not have suffered the setbacks that have caused them to fall in the eyes of recruits and the college football world.
The future with Willie Taggart at the helm is looking bright, and so the nostalgia felt towards Jim Leavitt will have to remain just that. The man who turned down the head coaching job at Alabama twice to stay with the program he built, the one who ran sprints up and down the field before games to get himself pumped up, is now lending his talents to the 49ers in their quest for a sixth Super Bowl win.
All Bulls fans can do now is wish Leavitt the best of luck going into this weekend’s game, and hope that he looks back on his time with USF as fondly as USF looks back on their time with him.
Samantha Ouimette is the sports editor of The Crow’s Nest. She can be reached at sports@crowsneststpete.com.
Photo contributed by USF Athletics.
