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The state of Florida has recruited former Oregon defenses coordinator Jim Leavitt as an analyst to help fix his defense, Seminoles coach Willie Taggart said Thursday.
Leavitt is expected to help Seminoles defensive coordinator, Harlon Barnett, by bringing another experienced voice to help him design game plans.
"It's a great addition to our football team, our football team, to find some one of that quality and experience in the defense room, as well as some that Barnett and the other defensive coaches can count, "Taggart told reporters on Thursday. "It's an advantage for our football team and it's something that will help our football team."
Leavitt was Taggart's only season defensive coordinator as the Ducks head coach in 2017.
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Leavitt stayed behind when Taggart took the FSU position, hoping to become the Ducks head coach, which was entrusted to Mario Cristobal.
Leavitt remained the defensive coordinator for the Ducks last season, but he had a difficult relationship with Cristobal and left after the season with a $ 2.5 million buyout. Leavitt has left university training since.
"It was something we had talked about before," said Taggart, who said he's working with Leavitt again. "I took the phone, called, and he said," Absolutely. "The right moment, I guess.
"Whenever we can help our football team and improve ourselves, we will try to do it."
Florida State (1-1) allowed 1,040 yards in its first two games, foregoing a two-digit lead in both cases. The Seminoles ranked 83rd in the nation in terms of yards allowed per game allowed (5.56) and 124th in yards per game (520.0).
Leavitt has been 95-57 in 13 seasons as a head coach at South Florida, creating a youth program by regularly participating in a bowl. He was fired in 2009 after an investigation by the school revealed that he had caught and hit a player and then misled school officials.
He landed in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers before returning to college as Colorado's defensive coordinator under Mike MacIntyre in 2015. Leavitt helped turn a struggling defense and the Buffs won the Pac -12 South in 2016.
Taggart, who has been South Florida's head coach from 2016 to 2016, hired Leavitt to Oregon in 2017. After Taggart's departure from Oregon, Leavitt got a contract paid four years at $ 1.7 million per season. coordinators in university football.
Adam Rittenberg of ESPN and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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