Is 49ers LB Coach Jim Leavitt Interested In The Arizona State Head Coaching Job?
by David Fucillo on Dec 9, 2011 12:00 PM PST
in Jim Harbaugh 49ers Coaching Staff
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PrintWhile the NFL is heading into the final stretch run before the playoffs, college football has completed their regular season (minus the Army-Navy game) and is preparing for bowl season. Given all that, college football teams have begun coaching searches for dismissed coaches. Among others, Arizona State is on the hunt for a new coach after dismissing our dear, old friend Dennis Erickson.
Earlier this morning, @ASUDevilscom tweeted that a source had told them 49ers LB coach Jim Leavitt has "begun making calls to potential assistants in event he's offered ASU job." They followed that up with a tweet that it did not mean he had necessarily been contacted by ASU. He could simply be preparing in case the call does come. They do not know one or the other at this point.
Of all the 49ers assistant coaches, Jim Leavitt would seem like the one most likely to depart for a head coaching job sooner rather than later. When Coach Harbaugh added Leavitt to his coaching staff, Leavitt was coming off 14 years as head coach at the University of South Florida. He got USF's football program going before being dismissed after an incident in which he was alleged to have struck a player. Leavitt sued the school and there was a settlement and this job with the 49ers would seem to be a potential launching point back up the coaching ranks.
One of the "drawbacks" to having a big turnaround is that the coaching staff could potentially become hot hires around the league. That will not necessarily happen right away, but if the 49ers find some measure of sustained success, it would not be surprising to see other teams, be they pro or college, sniffing around the team trying to get a piece of that success. The NFL in particular is a copy-cat league and they will pounce on coaches from a successful team. Do you see any potential departures after this season?
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I think the coaching staff stays mainly intact.
Especially if the success continues. I think Jim Harbaugh is the kind of guy that people want to work for so I don’t see too many departures happening in the near future. At least I hope not.
Why Us?
Even when the Niners were BAD people were stealing our coaches. Norv Turner comes to mind. And then there is Mike McCarthy.
My fear is that Vic Fangio could get picked off. The other way to see it is that teams are starting to prefer offesnve minded head coaches. So Greg Roman, and why not Tom Rathman?
Then there’s Brad Seely and even Jim Tomsula.
Try to keep'en by offering a bit of a pay raise....
at least offer something to keep our coaches.
We FINALLY have an AWESOME coaching staff, come on ownership (Yorks) do something to at least try and keep the coaches who may get other job offer from going.
We ALL see what Awesome coaching CAN DO and we ALL saw what mickey mouse coaching CANT DO (Erickson-Nolan-Singeltary).
Hope you're kidding...
Jobs in the NFL and even college are incredibly limited, so when you get an offer, you jump on it. Sure it would be nice to keep them around, but when a guy gets offered a promotion with another organization, be it college or NFL, you wish him well and thank him for what he’s done. Only time you block a coach from moving is if it’s a lateral move and he’s staying within the league; ie. Fangio going to be DC of another NFL team.
by 9thevolution on Dec 9, 2011 12:46 PM PST up reply actions
WHYYYYYYYYYY
No just joking, I’m fine with any coach leaving as long as the coaching core remains intact.
If you're watching a blowout, you can pass the time by counting the double teapots.
Samurai Champloo > Macross
Doesn't matter if we lose position coaches...
Harbaugh knows the type of people he wants and the respect he will command after this season means he will be able to fill positions on his staff if need be. The players feed off Harbaugh, not the position coaches. We’re fine if anyone outside the coordinators leaves, and I’m sure Harbaugh has replacement coordinators in mind if he needs them.
Not sure about that
Who would replace Vic Fangio? He’s been really great. I can see Harbaugh finding someone to take over the offensvie coordinator job, since it’s a reflection of his game plan and play calling. But Fangio is very valuable to us. Tought to replace. Just ask the Eagles when they chose their DC for the dream team. It makes a huge difference. . .
I don't think the Eagles example supports your point all that well.
Andy Reid chose to fire his DC McDermott who was qualified to be a DC (and got scooped up by Rivera immediately in Carolina) and replaced him with someone with zero experience coaching defense at the NFL or college level. It wasn’t because he didn’t have other options. I agree to an extent with your point though. But on the other hand, there are always rising stars in the NFL and I’m pretty confident in Harbaugh’s ability to find one if need be.
"I believe in you guys in the media. I believe that you will find a way to doubt this team. Just as long as what's written is written against us we'll be happy." - Jim Harbaugh
by SanFranciscoKnights on Dec 9, 2011 4:03 PM PST up reply actions
If Fangio is stolen from us
We will probably be able to pick up Steve Spagnuolo. He may soon be available. He’s another DC who loves to beat the hell out of opposing QBs.
AZ talk radio & media have been on the Leavitt kick for a while now....
As much as I’d hate the 9ers to loose him, I’d like him for the Devils…
"You have to reinvent yourself each year, ... What helped us was that there was some turnover each year." Bill Walsh...
Hope they ALL stick together!
I’m really hoping that Jed York appreciates that the coaching staff, much like the players, are a team; you play as a team, you coach as a team. I’d hope Jed understands this and is willing to open his checkbook and keep these guys together for at least a few more years. And, to that end, that the coaches realize collectively that they have something pretty amazing going on here..this is as cohesive a unit as I’ve seen in a long time. Of course, I’m realistic and get the fact that the recent success of the team is going to invite offers for this group of coaches.
O.K. then, maybe we can bring back Singletary to coach L.B.
then he can re-introduce the team favorite “nutcracker drill” (lol).
Funny Coach Sing went to Vikings land and just look at how wonderful that defense is doing.
Coach Nolan went to Dolpins land and just look at how wonderful that defense is doing.
As long as we keep Harbaugh and Tomsula,
I’m fine with it. Fangio always does worse in his second season, and even worse in his third.
Alex Smith 86%+ QB rating with 22+ TDs this season, hopefully! :)
ahh memory lane. this is how it was in the good old days. walsh and seifert managed to keep restocking the staff with bright coaching minds, bet harbaugh does the same
Let them hate us as long as they fear us. -- Caligula
There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. Some kind of high powered mutant never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live and too rare to die. -- Raoul Duke
Honestly, of the entire coaching staff, the loss of Leavitt would have the least impact. Hope we don't lose anyone else.
by 49erFanSince1950 on Dec 9, 2011 2:14 PM PST reply actions
Roman's not going anywhere
"I got two hard rules I live by, pop. I don't [site decorum] with the devil, and I never do tag teams with blood relatives" -Kenny Powers
One of the best things about Harbaugh
Is he’s really good at assembling a coaching staff. Look at the guys he brought into Stanford. Look at the ones he chose to bring with him to the NFL and the other guys he picked up who he’d never worked with before. During his time at Stanford, Harbaugh lost several quality assistants to bigger jobs with more high-profile programs, and by and large he did an excellent job replacing them.
In short, I hope the Niners are able to hang onto these guys, but if they were to lose a few, I would have a lot of confidence in Harbaugh to find able replacements. If that’s part of the price of success, I’ll pay it gladly.
Idolizing Robb Nen since 2002...
by Smoke on the Water on Dec 9, 2011 6:21 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
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