South Florida's Jim Leavitt: Bulls Fans, He's Yours Forever!

Tampa Tribune Sports, December 30, 2029:

   Leavitt Expected To Return For 2030 Season

Jim Leavitt said yesterday that he expects to return as South Florida's head coach for the 2030 football season. The school was hoping Leavitt would retire after this season following the team's 10th appearance in the St. Petersburg Bowl.

Head-coach-in-waiting Matt Grothe, the team's offensive coordinator, had no comment when asked if he was growing impatient.

Leavitt, who turned 73 this month, said he intends to keep coaching the Bulls and won't retire until he wins a Big East Conference title. The situation is eerily similar to the Florida State program of 2009 when Bobby Bowden refused to leave.

Bowden, who turned 100 this year, is still serving as the special teams coach for Florida State under head coach Derrick Brooks.

Leavitt was given a 20-year contract extension in 2009 after finishing fourth in the Big East and winning the St. Petersburg Bowl.

Oh, so you think it's all fiction?

Think again South Florida Bulls fans!

Love him or not, Jim Leavitt is yours to have and to hold until whenever. He's going nowhere, not now, not ever.

So you're not impressed with his 16-17 record in the Big East going into Saturday's homecoming game against Louisville?

Sorry, he's firmly entrenched. President Judy Genshaft loves him and fears him. Athletic Director Doug Woolard stays totally out of Leavitt's way. This is Jim Leavitt's program, he built it, he owns it and don't let anyone tell you different.

So he hasn't come close to winning the Big East title. Think he will? Who knows?

What we do know is that Leavitt has shown the ability to beat 1-AA schools on a regular basis.  He's shown the ability to beat teams with lesser talent. He's also shown that the only Big East "name" team he's been able to handle is West Virginia.

As long as ole Jimbo keeps putting up seven wins a year, he's here to stay.

Leavitt had his big chance in 2003 when Alabama, in a moment of total dizziness, asked him to coach the Crimson Tide.

And that's something Leavitt can always throw back at USF: Hey, I turned down Alabama to stay here!

That has bought him unlimited political capital with the school on Fowler Avenue in Tampa.

As for this season, it is like so many other USF seasons.

They beat Charleston Southern (yeah baby!), they beat Wofford (huge win!), beat Western Kentucky (didn't everyone?), whipped Syracuse (worst team in Big East) then got their "signature"  wins over West Virginia and Florida State.

Break it down and USF has two "decent" victories. Two.

They'll most likely become bowl eligible when Louisville falls on Saturday. That's a Louisville team in turmoil and that's the kind of team USF beats. Then it's Miami and UConn and those can go either way.

But it doesn't matter.

USF will go to some form of bowl game this year and the school will be all giggly about it and they'll actually get bowl-rings to wear if they win.

Wow!

Then there will be yet another recruiting class that Leavitt proclaims "the best ever" and the hunt for the Big East title can start all over.

And Jim "Captain Ahab" Leavitt, can hunt once again for the white whale, you know, Moby Dick–the Big East title whale.