Leavitt must go? Alum's site seeks firing

As USF has dropped four of its last five games, you've probably heard that a site has been launched calling for the firing of USF coach Jim Leavitt. We tracked down the founder of JimLeavittMustGo.com, speaking by phone and trading e-mails with Adam Goldman, a 33-year-old USF alum who lives in Coral Springs.

It's impressive, first, that the site was registered before the current three-game losing streak. Goldman registered it Oct. 3, the day after USF's first loss of the season, against Pittsburgh. Goldman said he's been a Bulls fan since his college days, making it up to Tampa for the Kansas and Syracuse games and watching the Bulls in Miami against Florida International.

"The site just came out of weekly conversations with my buddies, of our frustration, seeing the team start out well then having things falling apart," Goldman said. "When I looked up USF's conference record (8-8 in Conference USA, 13-13 in Big East), that's what put me over the edge. To see a .500 record, the wins agaisnt Kansas and Auburn don't mean anything if you're losing to Cincinnati and Rutgers. You should own those schools."

The likelihood of Leavitt getting fired is likely very low, not only because he's the only coach in the program's history, signed to a seven-year contract earlier this year, but also because his contract would call for USF to pay for 75 percent of his remaining salary if fired without cause, which would work out to about $8.3-million after this season.

Goldman, who graduated from USF in 1998 with a degree in communications, stressed that he appreciates what Leavitt has done in bringing USF to national rankings and prominence in a BCS conference.

"It's nothing against Coach Leavitt," he said. "I'm thankful for where he's taken the program. I'm just not sure he can take it to the next level."

Asked who he would like to see coaching in Leavitt's place, Goldman said he doesn't have the knowledge to know the best person, but wrote that "I would want the school to go after someone who would recruit players with good character and discipline. Right now, some of the kids we get lack a little bit of those qualities."

Goldman's site had a poll asking if Leavitt should be fired -- after 750 votes, 50 percent had answered "no," with 43 percent saying he should. The poll has since been taken down, though the site has added a message board.

Again, public sentiment to have Leavitt fired is only so strong -- the domain FireJimLeavitt.com is registered to a company that has more than 20 similar sites for sale -- the Leavitt one has an asking price of just $100, and still no takers. For comparison, it's the same price as FireWillMuschamp.com, which refers to the Texas defensive coordinator recently named as coach-in-waiting behind Mack Brown at Texas.

"I want to stress, though, that I love Leavitt and am very happy with what he has done," Goldman writes. "I just want what is best for the program."

Comments

[Norman]

Everyone still love Jim? He is back to .500

[Martin]

Did you see this?

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/bigeast/0-2-207/West-Virginia-South-Florida-game-dud-on-arrival.html

[Rocky 813]

We won a game we were supposed to win. Leavitt for President!

[BennyBull]

Dave W,

How does next season look promising? Will it take another round of conference losses to prove the sites point?

[BPaschael]

People forget this is not about 1 losig streak this season. It is a pattern of play that is what makes people upset with Leavitt.

Even in the win last night he made a couple blunders managing the clock.

Leavitt has underachived 2 years in a row now, not just 1

[AnhVu Nguyen]

hey 2:55 post
I forrow usf since i come usa you moron! We need to get a new Tet Offensive Coordinator and imprement Agent Orange Spread Offense!

[Jordan]

It was ugly last night, but a win is a win. Same stupid mistakes and same penalties. What was the deal with the gatorade bath at the end of the game? So lame! They must have been celebrating the fact that Leavitt is now 1 game over .500 in Big East play.

[Dave W]

Adam Goldman- come over to my blog at the Bulls Pit after the bowl game (presuming we'll get one- given a lack of eligible SEC and Big 12 teams, even a 6-6 team should make one) and we'll debate it. I don't have time right now, but I've got a lot of ammo.

Syracuse is case #1 of why you don't fire a succesful coach.

This is the first year we've underachieved. Even the most irrational schools like Clemson, South Carolina, Ole Miss, and Arkansas wait until they've underacheived for about 6 years before they fire a coach. This year is a failure, but next looks pretty darn bright for us, especially considering that Kelly probably will be gone from Cincy and Pat White, Mike Teel and Scott McKillop will be gone, and Donald Brown, LeSean McCoy, and Kenny Britt will all probably be gone.

[Gary S.]

I wouldn't mind the FIRE LEAVITT stuff so much if the people saying it weren't saying such colossally stupid things to justify it.

"The Big East is the worst conference"? No, there's also C-USA, Sun Belt, MAC, WAC, and arguably some others. It's revealing that our alleged fans can't even acknowledge the non-BCS-world, or even have any clue how fortunate USF was to escaped it. Anyone remember "quality not quantity"? That was only 7 years ago.

To further the above point, Frankie's response shows he has no damn clue why the histories of UAB/UCF/FAU/FIU might be comparable to the history of USF.

Comparing Leavitt to Larry Coker? Hellooooo, Randy Shannon is 12-11, and his team just got blown out on a Thursday night because they couldn't stop the run and couldn't play with discipline. Sound like any team we know?

Mike Canales as head coach? When he was OC, he got the same abuse Greg Gregory is now. And Rod Smith, come to think of it. Hey, I think I've found a pattern!

"Most teams improve over the course of a season"? No, equal numbers of teams improve and regress, because every game has one winner and one loser.

Anyone who would throw Jim Leavitt under the bus over a four-game skid, after 11 years of nothing but up up up, is either totally ignorant, or a complete ingrate. Don't break your legs jumping off the bandwagon, guys.

Bulls Suck, Site Rocks. Goldman is dead on when he says we keep losing the same way over and over again. Instead of slamming him for registering the site after one loss, he should be applauded for having the foresight to see what was blatantly obvious to anyone who has ever played big time college ball like myself. You need discipline in the huddle and on the sidelines if you want to win.

[Don G]

Frankie G, yeah, I'll agree that the possibility of playing Memphis or UTEP or possibly a Sun Belt team is certainly not very appealing, but any bowl should help with recruiting. USF can tell those prospects that they can join a team that has played in four straight bowls - which has its' appeal. Re: conference records by FAU, FIU, UAB & UCF, I don't think anyone can make argument that USF, with a 1-4 conf record, is not better than those 4 teams. Bulls are playing bad, but not at that level - at least, not as yet.

[Frankie G.]

Hey Gary S -

FAU, FIU, UAB & UCF all have better conference records than USF this year.. USF is more like those schools and less like Florida, FSU and Miami. It sucks to think the last 2 games of the season really don't mean anything, unless you really care about going to St. Pete Bowl.

[Matt]

Even if they win tonight, the conference record still stinks!

[Rob]

Look...everybody respects what Leavitt has done here. But its obvious our team is undiciplined.

All you have to do is watch our sideline to find out why. The absolute confusion of the coaches is embarrasing.

In all honesty, the whole program is over-hyped.

Jim, do the bay area a favor and hire some new assistant coaches.

[Eric]

Firing Leavitt does nothing to improve our offense. The only way that Leavitt is fired is if we start having a .500 record for years. Leavitt can coach, Gregory just isnt set up for BCS calibur coaching. How many times has he admitted that he has made a wrong call the past couple of years. Thats not something that O.C. usually do. Grothe is having to make too many plays which now is causing him to be rediculously careless with the ball. Unfortunately I am not sure who would replace him. Canales? The coach from Tulsa? We arent going to get someone like norm chow or jimbo fisher.

[RR]

Gee....watching this Pitt @ Cincy game tonight makes me think about how fun it would be to watch OUR team in a meaningful game at the end of the season.

But, alas....

[RR]

ADAM GOLDMAN IS MY HERO.

Gary S. is the Commandant of the USF Fan Gestapo.

[Gary S.]

Adam Goldman should be ashamed of himself. And anyone who thinks USF football is better off without Jim Leavitt should tear up their Bulls tickets and buy season tickets to FAU, or FIU, or UAB or UCF. Because without Jim Leavitt, that's what USF football would be.

[jerseybuc]

"I love Leavitt", says Goldman,but he puts together a website to get him fired after they lose ONE game? I agree that the wheels have fallen off the Bulls bandwagon, but come on Adam what is your real motivation here? We should own Rutgers and Cincinnati? I live in New Jersey, and they have been trying to run Schiano out of town here as well, but last time I looked, they beat us three straight. Maybe we could switch coaches. Adam, do your homework! You can't START a website to get rid of the coach and have NO IDEA on whom to replace him with.

The only way Leavitt can win is to drop down to a weaker conference, oh yeah were already in the weakest conference the Big LEAST.

Leavitt isn't qualified to coach High School and he shows it every week.

[Don G]

I have to agree with many who've noticed that while most teams improve over course of a season, USF seems to go in the opposite direction. I guess we can give Leavitt a break due to the large amount of injuries this year and factor-in all of the fumbles & INTs that are the player's fault, but there's one area where Leavitt has to take blame: huge number of penalties. Since NCAA has kept records (last 8-yrs), USF is the only team in 1-A to finish in the top-10 in penalties in those 8-yrs. During that time, players have come & gone and OC & DC have changed, however, the only common factor is Leavitt. That's a pattern and a problem that is obviously and undeniably a coaching problem and that falls on Leavitt. Unless CJL takes another job, he's here for the next few years due to the large contract payout it would cost USF. Maybe a new OC will mitigate what I think is sub-par, overall coaching at the 1-A level from Leavitt?

[BullsAlum2]

While I disagree with Leavitt's leaving/firing, I fully support this type of website. You're not a top program unless you have a number of websites dedicated to firing/hiring someone. USF has taken a huge step back from last season. I'd give Leavitt another year to turn around the sloppy play.

I think it was vince lombardi who said the fans are behind you win or tie and USF fans are proving that to be true every week

[RR]

The only thing I need to know:

13-13

Leavitt's Big East record.

Not good.

[Cat]

Rich,
The "Finish Strong" mantra by USF last year was somewhat successful with wins after the 3 game losing skid (up until the Sun Bowl loss). Plus, motivational tactics have been effective for many teams (ala "win one for the Gipper").
And UM was the ranked team Thurs. night and thus an upset as per the ESPN announcers.
Anyway, just win USF!

[Don Corleone]

CJL must go? Please find something better to do with your spare time. The disappointment of this season breaks down to a few factors:
1-The loss of Coach McCartney to UF. The D-line has been awful this year. Aside from a few sacks, the offsides and the vulnerability to screen and draws in long yardage (mostly 3rd down) has killed this team all season. Has any one noticed how dominant the Gators D has been this season?
2-The lack of pressure by the D line has exposed weak play at the corners.
3-The defense, once the best unit on this team has given up late scores even the Bulls were winning: 2TD's in the 4th to UCF and Kansas, 2 late scores to FIU before stopping them, a 3 play TD drive to Pitt after taking the lead, and a total meltdown to Rutgers
4-No running game. The injuries to Ford & Taylor has left Grothe the main running threat again.
5-Grothe's play the second half of the season has regressed to the level of his freshman season
6-A coach should display a confidence under fire, but I think he conveys panic when becomes too animated on the sidelines.
7-As Bill Parcells said, “you are what your record says you are”. I surmise that this team was over hyped and has under-performed.
Firing Leavitt is hardly the answer.

[Rich]

Daly,

If UConn lost Brown then they have Dixon to back him up. Remember the guy who ran for like 190 yards against us last year. Kelly redesigned his offense when he was down to his #3 QB. He made adjustments to protect his weaknesses. Something we know nothing about.

By the way, GG and Leavitt gave up on the run this year. Kelly, Williams, and plancher all average better than 4.7 ypc this year. I agree on Simmonds and leavitt should be held responsible for all his hires. Please don't bring up the budget as the reason. We pay Leavitt $1.5M per year. That's 2nd in the BE. Maybe he needs to learn to spread some around to his assistants instead of hoarding it all himself.

[Rich]

Cat,
Let's bring back finish strong! that worked out so well for us last year! I like the "dig ourselves a hole" motto this year. gold shovel and all. Maybe we can change the last half of the season motto to "bury us" now that we are in our hole. cheap motivational tactics are dumb.

Miami was not an upset. GTech was favored in that game. We have the 3rd longest streak in the nation as favorites. We have been favored in the last 16 games and are 8-8 over that time. Only Ou and BYU have longer streaks.

[Cat]

It's great to see that people care about the direction of USF football. Even if the base idea is a bit off. Fire Jim L.? Whatever. OK, we lost a few games and we played undisciplined at times. These are kids, some playing thru injury. Did everyone see UM (#23) get beat on Thurs. night? Not many thought that would happen yet upsets do occur every week. Let's win a few more games and close this season strong. Is it too late to bring back the FINISH STRONG mentality?

[2kegger]

If we lose to UConn then maybe ill jump on the sites bandwagon. Until then i ride or die with Jimbo.

[jadakiss]

Is it to late to bring back Seth Greenberg?

[axlfoley]

perhaps he should coach the team since he knows so much.

Bottom line. A good coach would never give up like we did against Rutgers. Shame on Leavitt for that.

[Atrain40]

That is stupid, who cares how long a program has played for. You think thats the reason or kids are undisciplined? Please can we stop using that as an excuses. Its people like you that probably were happy with the bucs losing all those year because they were so young. ITS TIME TO GROW UP

[Marshall]

what an idiot. every team usf plays has at least 50 more years of football history. ucf has been playing football for decades and they havnt had half the success usf has had

[sailingbull]

I'm going to start a site

adamgoldmanisamoron.com

or

adamgoldmanisanidiot.com

or how about

adamgoldmanisaretard.com

[AnhVu Nguyen]

The anonymous post at 2:55pm. Who is undefeated and rank in the top 5. I have been following USF since they started. Before you call someone an idiot, look at what kind of education you have, you moron!

[Reality]

I am glad to see Cee get his own website!

[Pierre Roche]

Real sports fans...remember Larry Coker? Won a National Championship. But... got banished a few years later. WHY?? Forward thinking insiders at UM saw what was around the corner. And that Peach Bowl loss for the might UM ... which rates close to but not worse than our Sun Bowl blowout...sealed the deal. Again - Coker has a conference and national champ ring. Leavitt...his only ring is for beating a ConfUSA team at the Pizza Bowl.
USF --- NEEDS ALUM SUPPORT and SPONSORS to stay competitive. LOSING games and LOSING fans will only make our weak budget worse.
G.A. is on the inside...I won't make calls from the outside looking in. Mr Beat Writer - what is the future for this program??? And what do you think should happen?

[Don G]

I've been a critic of OC Greg Gregory for a long time and I think the easy solution to getting to root of the problems at USF is to make a change at OC. With that said, if Gregory is dismissed after this season, his replacement will not be in an very enviable position next season with the loss of so many starters and lack of depth we're seeing. However, if that change isn't made now and a new OC isn't allowed to install his new offense in what will be an off-year next season, 2010 will not be as successful as it should under new QB, B.J. Daniels. I want to be fair to Gregory, but unless USF beats either UCONN or WVA and also ends with a St. Pete Bowl win over a C-USA team, sorry, but anything less warrants Gregory's dismissal.

[Ari Hinkelberger]

Leavitt needs to take a flight to Norman and big a champion like Josh Heupel to come down to tampa and show them what its like to play for a championship.

This dread lock wearing thugs need to tuck in the shirt (grothe) and start looking like a top ranked team. We look like a thug version of the wildcats.

Leavitt needs to go get Heupel. Let him come to Tampa turn this ship around and move on to a big time coaching job.

Lets go hire somebody who has won a championship!! Josh Heupel for OC.

[Bulliever]

GA,
Do you know how much $$ USF brings in for each ESPN Nationally televised game?

[Bulliever]

We were on TV ...ESPN... a lot this year. That I believe makes us quite a bit of $$. With that said that should be able to increase our budget of hiring decent OL and OC coaches...

Don't fire Jim, I think he has had his hands tied financially ... but we need to fire a few of the Asst. coaches (as mentioned above)...

USF MUST make some big changes, failure to do so will set us back and I believe we will lose the interest of the fans we have and ESPN.

[Marty]

"Please give him something to work with?"

Jim Leavitt is personally responsible for each and every recruit. No one goes on the recruuitment board that Jim doesn't personally approve. And, he routinely overrules Franks and the position coordinators who've tried to bring in some smarter athletes. So, blame Leavitt for the losses and the low APR!

[farmboy72]

stupid players = stupid mistakes = stupid loses.

Leavitt can coach but please give him something to work with

Anybody have some St. Pete Bowl tixs avail since that is where we are heading. Orange Bowl a month ago, St. Pete Bowl today. Next stop toilet bowl. Run the freakin ball already.

[Bull Daly]

YborKing,

I can tell you that there were a lot of USF fans wanting to get rid of Leavitt after the 4-7 2004 season which included a homecoming loss to Army. That was a very tough year to handle as we had all the hurricanes to deal with. The one bright spot was that we beat TCU on the road that yeat.

[jimmy]

Love Leavitt but site is right. We need something to change.

[GatorGreat88]

F the Bulls....Go Gators