rcade

The trooper, like other people in the room at the time, may not have been watching carefully at what happened. One player intentionally looked away from Leavitt's encounter with Miller, as he told USF's investigators. The trooper also might be downplaying what happened because he doesn't believe it was as bad as choking and slapping. It's not perjury to say he just grabbed a player's jersey if that's what you believe you saw, even if you're wrong.

Weak. The fact that something is in USF's report does not mean it's automatically true. But given the number of people who either saw Leavitt choke and slap Miller or were told by a witness that he was choked and slapped, it borders on the ridiculous to believe nothing inappropriate happened. Given the report, the most likely interpretation is that Leavitt grabbed Miller harshly and slapped him, Miller told people about it in anger, then Miller backed off his story after it became clear it would get his coach in serious trouble.

I think Leavitt would quickly build a team that destroyed the Belt. He didn't have enough time in the Big East with USF to prove how high he his teams could go. He was just starting to enjoy the recruiting that came from the school's higher profile in Florida.

Why does anyone talk to the press? He probably thought he could stay unnamed and face no consequences for telling the press. If he'd gone through official channels, he would've been held responsible for his decision to narc.

It is not easier for USF to recruit in Florida than it is for UNT to recruit in Texas. Both of the schools are giant schools with undersized alumni support and little juice in the state lege. Both of them have a bunch of in-state schools with storied histories and big names gobbling up recruits. If it's so easy to recruit here, why is UCF not experiencing the same success as USF? It's the same kind of situation as Leavitt faced in Tampa.

I don't see how you can possibly compare the success at USF under Leavitt to FAU and FIU. FIU has never had a winning season at the FBS level. FAU went 8-5 one year and 7-6 another and were co-Sun Belt champs in 2007, but that's not even in the ballpark of going 9-4, 9-4 and 8-5 in the Big East. Leavitt coached one of the most successful startups in NCAA football history. I was here in Florida when that program was just getting into I-AA. No one would have thought it possible for them to achieve what they did in so short a time.

I can't believe you're dismissing a guy building a school from no football program at all to Big East membership and a No. 2 ranking in under 15 years. At one point USF was the top program in Florida over Florida, FSU and Miami. Is there a Mean Green fan other than you who would not be ecstatic at those results?

You are calling them "disgruntled," but they are not characterized that way in USF's report and there is no evidence they were unhappy with the coach prior to the incident. Why would both of these players lie about seeing Joel Miller being choked and slapped by Leavitt? The report does not say they were 50 feet away. It says they witnessed the entire event. Trooper Benny Perez told USF investigators that he "did recall Leavitt grabbing someone by the collar or jersey during this particular halftime." As I said, it's in the investigative report. http://www.gousfbulls.com//pdf4/664295.pdf Every time you are confronted with information you don't like, you accuse somebody of making shit up, being ignorant or being a liar. What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you even here if your ties are to Mizzou? Are you really so invested in Jim Leavitt getting another job that you came here just to harass UNT fans who don't share your unshakable belief in his innocence?

The trooper did not say that nothing happened. Trooper Benny Perez "did recall Leavitt grabbing someone by the collar or jersey during this particular halftime."

I'm not looking from the USF side only. I would like to believe Leavitt did nothing wrong. But for that to be true, too many people have to be lying. I think Leavitt grabbed Miller and slapped him, which is assault if you make a big deal out of it and would get a coach fired. But I also think that it happens sometimes in locker rooms and most of the time the players and coaches keep it to themselves for the good of the program.

Since you're so determined to defend Leavitt, how about answering these questions based on my read of the USF investigative report. I'd like to get the take of somebody who had law school students as roommates during the '70s. 1. Why did two USF players say they saw Leavitt grab Joel Miller by the throat with one hand and slap or strike him with the other? 2. Why did one of those two players call Leavitt's actions an assault and the other say that Miller said to him afterwards, "Did you see that shit? Did you see what he did to me?" 3. Why did two other USF players (who were not eyewitnesses) say they were told by Miller that Leavitt grabbed his throat and slapped him? 4. Why did several players say that Miller told them he was warned afterwards by Leavitt to be careful because he was the "most powerful person in the building"? 5. Why did Miller's former high school coach say he was told by Miller that the incident occurred exactly as it was reported by AOL FanHouse, which wrote that Leavitt "grabbed a player by the throat and struck him twice in the face during halftime"? And finally ... 6. If Leavitt did nothing wrong and he's being smeared, why would such a large number of people lie to USF investigators?

That's 10 percent of the full contract, according to Mizzou's link. If he's fired with cause, he's only eligible to receive 10 percent of the deal. That's not what I said. $3 million over the four years he's still covered by the USF contract ($750,000 a year).

Only if you believe there's a chance he will prove he was fired without cause. Even then, the money he is owed is minus anything he earns in another football job through 2014. So let's figure on Leavitt getting a head coaching job for $750,000 a year, which is the low end of what he could command based on his success at USF. That's $3 million. What would you rather have as Jim Leavitt -- a small chance at $7 million from a protracted lawsuit fight that keeps you out of work through 2014, or a $3 million contract from another school and a chance to put the USF mess in the rear view mirror?

We'll see. I think Leavitt's a fine coach worthy of being considered here, regardless of whether he did everything he was alleged to have done. But I think the allegations plus the lawsuit have all-but-eliminated the chance UNT will hire him.

Me calling Leavitt an idiot for not settling is different than you repeatedly calling me an idiot. Leavitt's not here. You and I are, and your repeated attempts to make this personal have been reported to the moderators. Grow up. As for my numbers being fictional, I said the issue was $375,000 vs. $66,000 for a with-cause firing and you backed me up with your own link.

You should learn some manners. It's possible to disagree with someone without constantly calling them ignorant, stupid, and so on. I'm surprised the moderators are letting you get away with it. Go be childish on Mizzou boards. You quoted the most important part of those stories: "Even if it is determined he was fired 'with cause,' his contract says that he is due $375,000, not the $66,000 USF gave him the day he was fired, the suit says." Leavitt's attorneys can assert in a lawsuit that he's lost $9.5 million, but his own suit acknowledges that a with-cause firing would only net him $375,000. I think there's almost no chance a court will find that there was no cause to fire Leavitt. He's got an incredibly weak hand here and the most he can hope to make is $311,000 minus attorney costs. If he had not pursued the suit, he'd be a front-runner for the UNT job and other jobs as well.

Where is the misinformation? I'm in Florida and I clearly have read more about this than you have.

That's not how these contracts work. You don't get paid the full amount of your contract when you are fired with cause. The numbers I got were from media coverage of the Leavitt mess here in Florida. His lawyers are not claiming he's owed $7.1 million dollars. Google is your friend. Try it sometime.

North Texas fans have complained for years about bigger Texas schools conspiring to keep us down. Considering that, it's ironic that you want us to do that to Texas State and UTSA. We should be happy that two more Texas schools are moving up to the FBS. They could become good in-state opponents and potential conference rivals.

True. I live in Florida. USF was an up-and-coming program getting respect here before the Leavitt firing mess. Now it's getting about as much attention as UCF.

Even Leavitt's attorneys are not claiming he's owed millions. The school maintains that he's due one-twelth of his yearly contract ($66,000) after being fired with cause. Leavitt's attorneys say he's due one-twelth of the entire contract ($375,000). So he's prolonging the damage to his employability for $311,000 minus whatever he's paying his attorneys. He's an idiot for not settling.

Ever been involved in a legal dispute, Cerebus? I have. The idea you can restore your good name that way seems farcical to me. Lawsuits will bleed you dry and take up a lot of your time -- costing you even more money. The smart move is almost always to avoid litigation. No matter how much you've been wronged, getting lawyers involved in your life will make it worse.

Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. Some UNT fans decided to stop giving money to the program until it got its act together. Maybe they helped RV finally realize the Dodge he bought was a lemon.

He didn't break any commitment. Scholarships are year to year. Schools can drop them after any year, and he has the same right.

My bet is that neither Leavitt nor Leach gets a head coaching job while their lawsuits are unresolved. It's a shame because they're both good coaches.