JIM LEAVITT

Age:  52

School:  South Florida

Alma Mater:  Missouri, 1978

Conference:  Big East

Salary:  $1,500,000

Official Bio:   www.gousfbulls.com

Years Coaching:  11

Career Record:  79 - 47  .627

Years at School:  11

Record at USF:  79 - 47  .627

2007 Record:  9 - 4   .692

2007 Cost per Win:  $111,111

Attorney/Agent:   

Contract: 

December 2008 Buyout:  $400,000

Coaches Hot Seat Analysis

A few years ago when Jimmy Johnson was still the head football coach of the Miami Dolphins the people that sat in the luxury suites at Joe Robbie Stadium (Dolphin Stadium?  Please!) could watch a TV that had a camera that was focused on Coach Johnson for the entire game.  The USF marketing people would be wise to do the same set-up for Jim Leavitt at Bulls home games, because Leavitt produces some of the damndest looking expressions of any coach in the game today.  Anyone that has spent some time wandering around the sprawling USF campus north of Tampa, understands how the demographics of Florida are fueling the large number of I-A football programs in the state.  One can only imagine what Jim Leavitt found when he arrived at USF in 1997, but it was far different than what USF athletics is offering its student-athletes when they now arrive on campus now.  If someone had told us 10 years ago that USF football would be a force in the Big East conference, we would have laughed at such a notion, and that points to the type of job that Leavitt has done at South Florida.  Of course, Leavitt was helped by the very large number of I-A football athletes in the state of Florida, and the thing that has jumped out to us here at Coaches Hot Seat is the amount of speed that Leavitt has recruited to USF.  The last two years ('06 and '07 seasons) wins by USF over West Virginia has shown that the Bulls can play with any team in the country, and the biggest job for Leavitt going forward is getting more consistent play from his football team in every game.  2007 was a great example of USF's inconsistency with wins at Auburn, West Virginia, and then a crushing win over UCF, but was followed by three straight losses to Rutgers, Connecticut, and Cincinnati.  A team that can beat Auburn on the road has no business losing to multiple teams in the Big East, but during that 3 loss Big East streak in '07, USF played with a notable lack of consistency, and in a couple of those games a lack of fire at the start of the game.  Consistency is the word for USF going forward, and that is something that can be impacted by coaching.

Now entering his 12th year at USF, Jim Leavitt can look back and see that he has achieved much, but the Bulls football program is still viewed from the outside, along with UCF as either the 3rd or 4th best program in the state of Florida.  USF and UCF, and even FAU, are playing some pretty good football, but it is going to take recruits, and lots of them to really challenge the Gators, Seminoles, and Hurricanes for preeminence in the state.  The continued improvement of the USF program brings us to another sticky question, and that is would Leavitt leave Tampa for a job at a larger BCS school?  Leavitt has already turned down the Alabama job (reported, but really true?), but surely if USF continues to win football games another football power will come calling, and that will be another critical moment in the history of USF football.   

Coaches Hot Seat Bottom Line

We predict that Jim Leavitt and USF will have an 9-3 record in 2008.  USF has a very tough schedule in 2008 with out-of-conference games against UCF, Kansas, and NC State, which will make matching the Bulls '07 regular season record of 8-4 very difficult to match.  The USF season opens against Tennessee-Martin, which means the Bulls will start 1-0.  Week 2 is a very big game in the developing rivalry against UCF and Leavitt against O'Leary, and this game will be on the road in Orlando.  UCF is really moving up in the world with O'Leary at the controls, and their new Bright House Networks Stadium is becoming a very tough place to play for visitors.  We see a great game between USF and UCF, with the Knights pulling away in the 2nd half to get the win over the Bulls.  After two games, USF is 1-1.  Week 3 is another interesting game with the much improved Kansas Jayhawks visiting USF for a great non-conference game between the Big 12 and Big East.  This should be an exciting and high-scoring game, with USF's home-field advantage being the difference to get them the win.  After three games, USF is 2-1.  Week 4 is a trip to Miami to play Florida International, and the USF coaches will no doubt look across the field at FIU and think, that is what we must have looked like 5 years ago.  USF will get the win over FIU to run their record to 3-1.  The good games keep coming with USF traveling to the Raleigh to play NC State.  Tom O'Brien is in the 2nd year of his rebuilding program with the Wolfpack, and they will be looking for a win against USF to put another brick in the foundation at NC State.  In what should be another very close game, we see NC State getting the win, which would take the USF record to 3-2.  Big East play begins in week 6 with the Pittsburgh Panthers traveling to Tampa to play the Bulls.  Dave Wannstedt has had some problems getting off go at Pitt, but the Panthers proved they can win on the road with the win over West Virginia in '07, but USF should be too much for the Panthers in this game.  After six games, USF is 4-2.  Syracuse leaves northern New York and the Carrier Dome to play USF in Tampa in week 7, and this will be a very difficult game for the Orangemen to win.  USF pulls away in the 2nd half against Syracuse, and USF runs their record to 5-2.  If USF can get off to a 2-0 start in the Big East, one of the biggest games of the year will be the week 8 trip to play Louisville on the road.  The Cardinals were up and down in '07, and they will have to play their best to beat USF in '08.  In what should be a great Big East game, we see USF having too much firepower for Louisville, as the Bulls pull away in the 2nd half for the win.  After eight games, USF is 6-2.  If USF is 3-0 in the Big East after the Louisville game, then the week 9 game against Cincinnati on the road will be another big game.  In '07 Cincinnati went to Tampa and beat the Bulls, so USF should have no problem getting up for this game.  Brian Kelly has kept up what Dantonio got going at Cincinnati, and the Bearcats look to be very tough team at home in 2008.  In another very good Big East game, we see Cincinnati getting the win, which would take the USF record to 6-3 after nine games.  With a loss to Cincinnati, the November 11 game against Rutgers at home will be a big one to get the Bulls back into the race for the Big East title.  Rutgers should be a very good team in '08, but having to play this game in Tampa will be the difference, as USF gets the win and runs their record to 7-3.  Week 11 brings the UConn Huskies to Tampa to play the Bulls, and in what should be about the 5th great Big East game of the year, USF again gets the win mainly because of their home-field advantage (and that they will have more athletes on the field!).  After eleven games, USF is 8-3.  Week 12 is a big game, as USF travels to Morgantown to play Bill Stewart's West Virginia team.  This game might be for the Big East title, and the Mountaineers will no doubt still be smarting over the last two losses to USF in '06 and '07.  This will be a close game with almost equal talent, and the difference in head coaching experience in big games will be the biggest factor here as USF beats West Virginia for the third straight year.  A win over West Virginia sends the USF regular season record to 9-3.   

9-3 is the same regular season record of '07, but with a very tough non-conference schedule and a Big East conference that continues to improve, 9-3 would be a very respectful record for Leavitt and the Bulls in 2008.

2008 Coaches Hot Seat Prediction:       9-3

Will Jim Leavitt be back for the 2009 season?      YES