Meh. That only really matters when the talent is on a similar level, which it's not even close anymore. Leavitt's rah rah attitude is cool and all, but I am completely indifferent about playing a JL-led CSU team.
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2018-2019 Coaching Carousel..
- Thread starter leftybuff
- Start date
Oh I disagree about that only mattering when the talent is equal, that attitude is what kept CSU in games against more talented Buff teams over the years. I am definitely not scared and I don't think he would be crazy successful but just more of an annoyance as I could see them playing really hard against us year in and year out without quitting like they have quite a bit over the last couple of years.
Leavitt was a very good coach at the G5 level when he was the coach at USF. That was a program that was in the shadows of some major programs and still managed to have winning records almost every year and managed to beat some P5 level programs.
He may be an egotistical jerk (many successful coaches are) and have problems controlling his temper (costing him his HC job at USF) but he can coach and he can motivate and his players buy in and produce.
I could see him having solid success at a place like CSU.
His success as a HC came a decade ago at a G5 program in the most talent rich state in the country. If you think that is at all relevant to Colorado State in 2020 or beyond, I don't know what to tell you. Would he be better than Bobo? Maybe, but hopefully that's not the standard in Fort Collins as Bobo has been pretty mediocre to below average and not even really competitive against CU (or any of their rivals).
Wouldn't surprise me if he was a candidate for the CSU job next year unless they've already made Lubick the unofficial coach in waiting.
You mean the dude who left UW to work at a Credit Union?
I think he would be a substantial upgrade over Bobo. He has enough contacts to assemble a reasonably good staff. He is getting paid well by Oregon so he doesn’t need a big paycheck (although he was in a similar situation when he left CU, so money is probably a bit of a motivator for him nevertheless). He would be motivated and focused - two things Bobo is not. He would be a great hire for CSU, which is why they will never hire him. We complain about our dysfunction, but CSU takes dysfunction to an entirely new level.
Yep. That looked like a made up job to get him back to Fort Collins. His title is like "liaison" or something for their CSU client.
Those recruit moms are going to get some great jobs
I really question his contacts to build a staff at this point. He has bounced around so much since USF that it would be hard for him to build a decent coaching staff.
I am not saying Leavitt is some mythical miracle worker. At the same time, you underestimate the job he did at South Florida building that program from the ground up. Leavitt literally (and I truly mean literally) held his first meeting under a tree for shade since their were no athletic facilities. During his tenure, his USF team went 7-12 versus top 25 teams despite not being in a P5 conference. I’ll accept that he is an oddball, self promoting egomaniac. He may be a few more things...potentially a player abuser, potentially a snake, potentially toxic to head coaches. Fair enough. I balk when it’s suggested that he isn’t a top notch coach.
CSU has a history of taking coaches like Leavitt. See Larry Eustachy, who competed quite well against CU.
I just really don't know why his time at USF a decade ago or Larry Eustachy is relevant to the state of CU vs CSU football in 2020 and beyond.
You may be right. I’m looking at it from the perspective that because he has bounced around a bit, he has a lot of connections. He undoubtedly knows a lot of coaches. Whether he could convince any decent ones to join his staff remains to be seen.
The point about Eustachy is valid, I think. It shows a pattern of coaching hire that has worked for them in the past. CSU isn’t a destination for top tier coaching talent, so they get up and comers from major staffs (Shark bait, Bobo) or guys with a little hair on them (Eustachy). Hell, Art Briles might be a candidate up there.
The connections are really tenuous though. I don't think he made many friends in Oregon and he kinda, sorta hit it off with a few younger coaches at CU.
Most people use a prior resume to evaluate future success. He left USF in 2010, and has been coaching since. He was successful as a DC at CU, his defense was improving at Oregon statistically despite lack of continuity with a head coaching change and the fact that the current head coach (Mario Cristobal) is a terrible at...coaching.
JL is a good enough coach to be a pain for CU. He isn't going to resurrect CSU from the dumpster fire they are. CSU went all in for the P5 and missed...it is going to be a long, relatively rapid, decline to CFB abyss of the bottom of the G5.
JL has probably missed his window. If I were CSU, as nik notes above, I would hire Matt Lubick and hope he can recreate some of Sonny's magic.
Bobo is a good guy. I think his health woes are a big part of why he hasn't had more success. He is just marking time now, CSU will axe him the day they can afford it....which may be the last day of his contract.
JL has probably missed his window. If I were CSU, as nik notes above, I would hire Matt Lubick and hope he can recreate some of Sonny's magic.
Bobo is a good guy. I think his health woes are a big part of why he hasn't had more success. He is just marking time now, CSU will axe him the day they can afford it....which may be the last day of his contract.
The gap between CU and CSU has never been wider than it is today and that is not changing any time soon. Jim Leavitt at CSU wouldn't change that.
That sounds about as risky a hire as they could make.
IMO, the plan for CSU is pretty simple. You need to find a coach with heavy ties to Texas that is good at finding under the radar guys and developing them into tough run heavy, play action based team. Ft. Collins should be able to recruit those kids well and then they can use the state of Colorado as their next priority in recruiting since there are quite a few G5 players here. That type of team might not help them compete with the P5's but they should be able to compete in the top of their conference year in and year out with that strategy.
Turning CSU into SEC-lite was a clear mistake.
I agree that CSU is a mess. I just don’t need a good coach to rally the bad news bears up north to a win every third year like Sonny did. Whole discussion is probably moot since CSU rolls off the schedule after 2020 anyway.
Please do not misunderstand me. I am completely comfortable with CSU peeing in their mess kit.
It isn't like he has spent the last 10 years out fishing or in a broadcast booth, the guy has been a very high level assistant coach in that time deeply involved in the game.
How do you think he has "forgotten" how to be a highly effective head coach?
Yes he was in a talent rich area but he was also in an area that 1/2 the schools in the country come into to recruit.
Nobody saying he would turn CSU into another Boise but I have no problem expecting that he would win a lot of games in Ft. Collins and be a pain in CU's side, at least until he either lost control of his ego/emotions and got fired for cause or got them on sanctions.
BehindEnemyLines
beware the habu
Rep for using "mess kit" in a post.
Leavitt didn't want to recruit at CU or Oregon. How is he going to recruit at CSU? I think Leavitt would be a good fit at a CSU, but I question his desire to be at a G5 School at this point in his career. He has made it very clear he wanted a P5 head coach opportunity. He can make the same amount at a P5 School being a coordinator.
Same way he recruited at USF, that what your TE, RB and OLB coach is for!
Seriously, Leavitt has the skillset to recruit, he isn't up for the relentless travel, which HCs are forbid from doing.
Correct, but you have to have that mindset as the HC as well. You don't just turn it on and off.
chitownbuff
Club Member
Valai ended up at Rutgers.
Athletic Directors around the country seem to share your view.
What's worse? That we lost out on Valai because we couldn't afford him or we lost out because Mel thought Howdy Doody was a better choice?