[ad_1]
By: Brendan Sonnone | Noles247
September 11, 2019
TALLAHASSEE, Florida (247 sports) – Florida State Defense gets help from experienced coach Jim Leavitt joined the team to form defensive analyst, says Bruce Feldman L & # 39; athletics.
Leavitt, 62, finds his coach Willie Taggart. The two were together at Oregon in 2017, with Taggart as the head coach and Leavitt as the defensive coordinator. Taggart left the FSU in the next off season and wanted to bring Leavitt with him in the same capacity, but Leavitt got a substantial raise ($ 1.7 million a year). Head coach Mario Cristobal did not retain him after the 2018 season, which gave him the opportunity to come to FSU.
The move makes sense for both parties as signs of a meeting between Leavitt and Taggart begin to appear this spring. First, FSU began implementing 3-4 looks with hybrid linebackers … a deviation from the defensive coordinator of Figure 4-3 has always been used in the state of Michigan. Leavitt is known to execute a 3-4 hybrid scheme. Second, Leavitt was also on the FSU campus in the spring.
"I appreciate Willie. I've known Willie for a long time, "Leavitt said in March. "When he called me to join Oregon, I really enjoyed this opportunity, really." He has treated me well, we have a very good relationship. He impressed me the year I was with him.
Leavitt should help oversee the FSU's regime change, although he will be limited in what he can do directly with the players. It is therefore more than likely that Leavitt is better served by informing FSU coaches about the best use of personnel with hybrid fronts. To date, the former Soviet Union has struggled to switch to the multi-front system under the leadership of defensive coordinator Harlon Barnett, who is more aware of a 4- attack system. 3.
Oregon would have agreed to pay $ 2.5 million to Leavitt for a buyout, depending on what he got another job. It is unclear if this role at FSU will have an impact on the Leavitt buyout … but it is unlikely to happen, which would explain how the Seminoles got a proven coach for their support staff .
Leavitt has significant experience as a coach at the Power Five level, as well as in Florida. He was the head coach of the USF from 1997 to 2009 (he was fired in 2010 after an investigation into a school revealed that Leavitt had had a physical altercation with a player, according to an ESPN report). (2017-18). Leavitt also previously worked for Kansas State in the 1990s and was the linebacker coach for the San Francisco 49ers from 2011 to 2014.
[ad_2]
Source link