Colorado Football: Top 5 Candidates to Replace Mike MacIntyre

1. Jim Leavitt (DC/Oregon)

Athletic Director Rick George was instrumental in getting Jim Leavitt to Boulder in 2015, and many around the program attribute the program’s ascension in 2016 to his defensive schemes. He accepted a big offer from Oregon to be their defensive coordinator following that season, and Colorado has subsequently not been the same.

It’s not secret that Leavitt aspires to be a head coach again, and this could very well be his opportunity due to his relationship with George.

Leavitt was the head coach at South Florida for 14 seasons, and his termination in Tampa had nothing to do with his on the field coaching abilities. It is the subject of his termination, however, that could prevent him from nabbing a job like this.

He was let go following the 2009 season after an investigation that he struck a player in the locker room at halftime of a game. Leavitt has adamantly denied those claims, but also seemingly muddled in the investigation, which also attributed to the university’s decision to let him go.

On the field, Leavitt accumulated a 95-57 record during his time in Tampa, highlighted by lifting the Bulls to a No. 2 ranking in the BCS during the 2007 season.

It has been nine years since he has been a head coach, but he is still widely respected as a coach around the nation, and his hand in the turnaround 2016 season at Colorado, along with his relationship with the athletic director, could place him near the top of Colorado’s shortlist of head coaching candidates.