Colorado Football: 5 reasons why Buffaloes will struggle in 2017

4. Defensive architect Jim Leavitt is also gone

A large part of Colorado’s rise from cellar dweller to Pac-12 South champion was the sudden emergence of a top-20 defense. The Buffaloes turned things around thanks in large part to the work of defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt.

Leavitt was the man who turned South Florida’s football team into a reality in the late 1990s. He coached in Tampa from 1997 through 2009. After being fired by the Bulls, Leavitt spent four years with the San Francisco 49ers under Jim Harbaugh. He returned to the college ranks in 2015 with Colorado, and within two years he turned their defense into a championship unit.

Now Leavitt is gone, having moved from the Pac-12 South to the Pac-12 North. The coordinator was hired to fill the same role at Oregon, working with another former Bulls head coach in Willie Taggart. Leavitt’s departure from Boulder is a huge blow for a unit that flourished under his tutelage.

To fill the vacancy, the Buffaloes poached Kentucky defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot. But Eliot will be looking to transition Colorado from the 4-3 installed by Leavitt to a 3-4 base defense. That transition means that players will be adjusting rather than acting instinctually. Add it all up and the Buffaloes will probably stink on defense compared to last year’s gaudy numbers.