Kansas Football: 5 options for Jayhawks’ new coach in 2019
Jim Leavitt
Oregon Ducks defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt wants to be a head coach again. Leavitt, a Texas native, played defensive back at Missouri where he later served as a graduate assistant. After coaching linebackers and serving as Bill Snyders defensive coordinator at Kansas State, Leavitt took over the USF Bulls football program.
Leavitt was the Bulls inaugural head football coach and took USF from an independent in 1997 to second in the polls during the 2007 season. With a 95-57 overall record as head coach, and only two losing seasons in 12 years of play, Leavitt was fired. He collected $2.75 million for the settlement after an investigation into Leavitt striking a player.
Jeff Long has never veered away from a controversial coach as Bobby Petrino was no saint during his first run at Louisville or during his 3-10 season with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. Since the USF controversy, Jim Leavitt coached linebackers for the 49ers for three seasons before breaking back into the college ranks. Leavitt turned around the Colorado Buffaloes defense which led to 10 wins in their only good season under Mike MacIntyre before leaving for Eugene.
Jim Leavitt would establish an identity at Kansas backed by his knowledge of the area and his recruiting connections to Texas, the west coast, and Midwest. It would be a risk but the Jayhawks 104th ranked defense would improve immediately in Leavitt’s 3-4 defense.