Por (bret sanders) on February 12, 2009 (Suggest removal)

Sounds like Leavitt set out what he intended to do, run off a good coach.  Leavitt totally mishandled the situation, how many more offensive coordinators is this guy going to go through?  By the way, according to another article, sounds like Leavitt can interview and entertain offers, but it’s a one way “Leavitt Street” AD-wake up.. No, Jim Leavitt isn’t going anywhere, he reaffirmed.
I guess it’s ok for him to interview, but you other coaches, don’t think

Por (Chris) on February 12, 2009 (Suggest removal)

Like most people, I was not a fan of Gregory’s play calling.  I would consider my college football coaching kowledge amture at best but I could predict the play pretty accurately many times a game.  I know injuries hurt the offense late in the season but I think the 1 dimensional play calling from Gregory was the main factor.  Lets face it, the other teams cought on and knew what was coming.  I knew playcaller next yer will psice things up a notch and hopefully make use of all the talent and speed USF’s offense brings to the table.  I am optomistic.

Por (Chris) on February 12, 2009 (Suggest removal)

Leavitt has turned down offers from schools like Alabama.  The reason Gregory was demoted is because you cant have an assistant coach who starts talking to other schools for a lesser role; especially when the other school is less than 2 hours away.  What does that say to recruits and the team. He wasnt 100 percent a Bull.  Not the type of person you want leading your team. That mixed with a bad offensive year and predictable play calling led Leavitt to make the correct decision. Dont ever bash Leavit…this man has done what no other team has done…EVER! He started a program from scratch, stayed true to them, and in a decade of existance has led them into the national spotlight and 2 top 10 rankings in back to back years.

Por (Brett McMurphy) on February 12, 2009 (Suggest removal)

Chris, I agree the offense did not meet their expectations and Gregory deserves some of the blame. But some of the blame also has to fall on the players. And, also, the defense did not force as many turnovers and I think that contributed to the points per game being lower - consistently having to drive on a longer field. All of those are factors, but Bret’s point is valid: the way the Gregory situation was handled in the last month when Leavitt/USF said he was fired/demoted/unfired/etc. has been a mess.

Por (Brett McMurphy) on February 12, 2009 (Suggest removal)

Chris, there’s a big difference with “talking to other schools” for a lesser position especially when Gregory would have made more as TE coach at UF than what he made as USF’s offensive coordinator. It’s not like he was trying to leave for a lesser position that paid less. Leavitt sure used his interviews at other schools to increase his salary 10 times over. I guess USF’s next offensive coordinator better never interview for any other jobs, or he’ll be out the door/demoted also.

Por (Mike) on February 12, 2009 (Suggest removal)

Without money being a factor, it does look bad when the offensive coordinator of USF goes to interview for the TE coach at any school (especially another Fl school). Whether Gregory wanted to or not, his actions insinuated that it’s better to take less responsbility as a TE coach at UF than be in charge of running the majority of the offense at USF. He showed no loyalty. Leavitt used AL as a pawn to get more money. Leavitt’s intent vs Gregory’s intent were different. Additionally, Im sure it’s fustrating when Leavitt has to worry about coaching attrition during the offseason. Essentially, he’s sending the staff a message.

Gruden would be a good move for program exposure.

Por (Sam) on February 12, 2009 (Suggest removal)

Brett. Latley it sounds like you have a thing with Levitt?Couldn’t it be that after Levitt demoted Gregory he kept him on staff with a job till he found another opportunity & if he didn’t he would have kept him on in some other capacity.It doesn’t appear that there was animosity between the two after the move.

Por (Brett McMurphy) on February 12, 2009 (Suggest removal)

Mike, if Leavitt paid his assts more $$ then they wouldn’t go interview for lesser jobs that paid more. And Leavitt also interviewed at Indiana and K-State so it’s OK for him to try to better his financial situation but not his assts? Sam, as far as Gregory’s status, Leavitt, through a USF asst. AD, said he was no longer on staff, but then said later he was still on staff. So which was it? If he was gonna keep him on staff then why demote him and just wait for him to find another job instead of drawing attention to him with the firing/demotion/not fired situation?

Por (Dr. Rob Ritter) on February 12, 2009 (Suggest removal)

This will be a day long remembered, it has seen the end of Gregory, will it now see the need to hire a special teams coach with the extra money left by having Canales promoted and gregory gone? Wouldn’t that make more sense? If that happens, and CJL FINALLY instils the attitude that 10 penalties a game and is unacceptable and will not be tolerated, will rise above the mediocrity that has been our program the last 4 years. Even if you have to hire a dedicated WR coach, get one on the cheap, but still add a Special Teams coach!!! Looks like CJL does not want to play the bad guy.

Por (Rich) on February 12, 2009 (Suggest removal)

Total mismanagement by Leavitt. If he intended to make a move then he should have right away or said nothing to Gregory. I don’t blame Gregory for looking out for his best interests. Leavitt needs to pay his coaches more and it should come from his own pocket. He makes 10 times what his OC makes. That is not inline with our budget. Programs of our size pay their HC closer to 5 times their OCs salary. Leavitt is one of the highest paid HCs for a program our size while his assistants are closer to the bottom. This will only hurt him in the long run.

Por (Chris) on February 12, 2009 (Suggest removal)

Brett, I respect your opinion but I stand by what I said.  Mike had it right..the insinuation the Gregory would rather take a job at UF with less responisbily for money shows were his priorities lie.  I dont fault gregory for looking for more money but it shows he is more concerned with himself than the team.  Leavitt made the right choice, Gregory called some horrible plays last season and whether its the players fault or not the coaches always take the blame; thats the responsiblity they assume when they take the job.

Por (Chris) on February 12, 2009 (Suggest removal)

Also, Leavit didn’t fire outright…he demoted him and Gregory was able to keep a job that paid until he found something he was more interested in…which he did.  Business can be harsh sometimes but business is business.  leavit has a team to run and he wants his staff loyal.  there is nothing wrong with that.  Thats what separates a good business from an average one.  USF wants to be great…not average.  This was a tuff decision by Jim for USF’s future.

Por (Growler Bull) on February 12, 2009 (Suggest removal)

What both Bretts are failing to point out is that Leavitt has no control over how much his assistants are paid. In fact, Leavitt has used the leverage of other schools looking at him to increase the salaries of all his assistants, not just his own. If anyone should be called out is USF’s administration. Leavitt has used leverage to successfully increase coaches salaries and it also help get the athletic facility built. To blame Leavitt for coaches salaries is naive at best, or at worst deceitful.

However, how does USF justify increasing coaches salaries when faculty are being let go, class sizes are getting larger and the state of Florida continues to squeeze higher ed throughout the state.

Por (Chris) on February 12, 2009 (Suggest removal)

There is a culture in this country that contradicts itself.  One that says sports is more iportant than education.  How else do you explain professors with PhDs being let go because of budget yet the coach of the football team gets a million dollar raise.  This is the same around the country.  We talk about a bad economy when teachers get laid off, kids cant afford college, but coaches and players make millions.

Por (Perry Lerner) on February 12, 2009 (Suggest removal)

I could be wrong on this, but everytime Coach Leavitt got a raise wasn’t there more money to pay his assistants?

I would love to see a new face come in here and take over the offense and bring some new ideas to the field.

Por (Hector Jimenez) on February 12, 2009 (Suggest removal)

I am all for going outside the program to get a new OC.

Brett…the ACC’s schedule came out and some TV opportunities on ESPN any word why the USF-UM or USF-FSU games were not automatically reserved for ESPN…they are not any worse or better that the ECU-VT game which has already been slated.

Thanks.

Por (Rich) on February 12, 2009 (Suggest removal)

Nobody watches highlights of econ 101 professors on sportscenter. Stop watching and stop going to the games and these overpaid coaches and players will no longer make anything.

growler you’re naive if you think Leavitt has no say in how much his assistants make. Yes they get raises when he does but his salary has increased exponentially, on a percentage basis, compared to his assistants pool. His salary jumped from $1M to $1.5M in 2008 while his assistants pool went from $1.05M to $1.25M in 08. That’s a 50% increase for Leavitt and a  increase for his assistants. He makes more than his 10 assistants combined. That’s ludicrous.

Por (Brett McMurphy) on February 12, 2009 (Suggest removal)

Check out the blog post above with my interview with Gregory that may answer some of your questions, now I’ll try to cover the rest. Rob, USF - and every other school - can only have nine full-time assistants. With Gregory’s departure, they now have eight, so they can bring in another coach - probably a WR coach since Canales is pretty much already the offensive coordinator. As far as special teams, John Hendrick told me last year, that he was named USF’s special teams coach by Leavitt early last season. I guess Hendrick would remain as “special teams coach” this year.

Por (Chris) on February 12, 2009 (Suggest removal)

You are really gonna tell me its ludacris the the head coach makes 10 times his assistant coachs but its not that he makes 10 times what professors at the same school make.  He makes 10 times the assistants because his responsibilty is 10 times.  Everything falls on his back.  Also, this trend of coaches making way more than assistants isnt limited to USF

Por (Brett McMurphy) on February 12, 2009 (Suggest removal)

Chris, Gregory was asked to interview at Florida for a job that would pay him more. He had the chance to go work for arguably the best program in America and, oh by the way, make more money. Although they would never admit it, I’m sure every member of USF’s staff would rather work at UF than USF. Heck, probably 75 percent of the coaches in America would rather work for UF than where they are. That’s not a slap at USF, but UF is in another stratosphere as far as college athletics than USF is right now.

Por (Brett McMurphy) on February 12, 2009 (Suggest removal)

Growler Bull, you are 1,000 percent wrong. Leavitt has complete control over what his assistants make. Each time he got a new contract, I think four times in the past 6-7 years, he could have had it written into the contract that the assistants would get a lot more money or he wouldn’t sign. He was able to have a ridiculously low $50,000 buyout (until his last deal), he was able to get an extra car allowance for his wife, he reworked his deal so he’ll get 75 percent of the worth of the contract if he’s fired, etc. In 2008, the average Big East head coaching salary was $1.3 million; Leavitt made $1.575 million; the avg. Big East OC made $213K, Gregory made $160K, nearly 25 percent less than the average coordinator.

Por (KC) on February 12, 2009 (Suggest removal)

Get a grip people.  You will have a much better life when you grasp the concept that patience oftens goes in direct proportion with productivity.

A HC(star employee) will be given more leeway if he has acheived more.  GG acheived nothing while here and as such had a shorter leash. 

Our offense rarely produced in big games and none of our offensive players improved since they have been here under his guidance.

Since when does being a nice guy or just good keep you from getting fired?

Why on earth he told his boss he was interviewing elsewhere is beyond me.  Try that at your office/job and see how that goes.

Por (Brett McMurphy) on February 12, 2009 (Suggest removal)

Perry, USF’s assistants do get more money each year - $100,000 to be split between the nine assistants however Leavitt decides. But you’ve got coaches like Kevin Patrick ($70,000) and Larry Scott ($90,000) among the lowest paid BCS assistants in the country. In fact, Larry Scott was the lowest paid assistant in the BCS and Patrick was among the five lowest paid assistants. Hector, I think ESPN just announced the non-Saturday games. ESPN usually doesn’t announce the Saturday games until they know when the kickoff will be.

Por (Rich) on February 12, 2009 (Suggest removal)

Leavitt (and no coach for that matter) does 10 times the work a coordinator does. The fact is many programs our size (salary pool wise) pay their HC about 5 times what they pay their coordinators. Fans complain we don’t have the money for good coordinators but the fact is Leavitt accounts for a larger share of the coaches budget for our program. According to Brett’s numbers, Leavitt made 9.8 times what our OC made last year while the average BE HC made 6.1 times their OC. That’s a huge discrepancy. We have one of the highest paid HCs and some of the lowest paid assistants. Thankfully Burnham wasn’t in it for the money or he would have left long ago.

Por (Growler Bull) on February 12, 2009 (Suggest removal)

1. Leavitt would love to pay his assistants more, he just needs a better budget from the University. He can demand more $$ but if USF doesn’t budge than he can either leave or make the best of the situation.

2. Just about all of Leavitt’s assistant coaches hires have been coaches who were either new to the business or out of work. I am not saying they are bad coaches, but he has helped many assts jumpstart or revive their careers. He has made the best out of a poor situaiton for everyone involved.

3.If CJL was just about the $$ he would have left years ago. That only hurts USF and leaves the next head coach with the same challenging budget.