Leavitt

DeepGreen · January 12, 2011

Just saw on the news that Jim Leavitt and South Florida have reached a settlement agreement. Can't find an online line to the story.

Harry · January 12, 2011

http://www.tampabay.com/sports/college/usf-settles-ex-coach-jim-leavitts-lawsuit-for-275-million/1144945

The Fake Lonnie Finch · January 12, 2011

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast/post/_/id/17046/settlement-allows-usf-leavitt-to-move-on

Should have been done last year. But, as predicted, he settles so he can get on with his career:

He and his attorneys had planned a long, protracted fight that would have had Leavitt and the school air a lot of grievances in a public setting, which wouldn't have left either party looking good.

Exactly. If the (Festivus) grievances had been aired, it may have further damaged his career. I think what happened is Leavitt saw the light, heard from potential employers about how the hanging lawsuit was a hindrance, and saw Mike Leach passed over for good jobs as well.

With all of the current upheaval, it will be interesting to see who takes him. My guess is he won't be unemployed much longer. Looks like Tulsa needs a DC...and a head coach!

The Fake Lonnie Finch · January 12, 2011

http://www.tampabay.com/sports/college/usf-settles-ex-coach-jim-leavitts-lawsuit-for-275-million/1144945

As part of the agreement, neither side is allowed to comment on the matter, and the settlement states that it should not be "construed as an admission by USF or Leavitt of any liability, wrongdoing or unlawful conduct whatsoever."

Um...I wonder where I've heard this before? People with law degrees surely don't know how things get settled. Nah!

VideoEagle · January 12, 2011

As part of the agreement, neither side is allowed to comment on the matter, and the settlement states that it should not be "construed as an admission by USF or Leavitt of any liability, wrongdoing or unlawful conduct whatsoever."

Um...I wonder where I've heard this before? People with law degrees surely don't know how things get settled. Nah!

I'm shocked, SHOCKED, that Leavitt settled and didn't pursue it further. <_<

FirefightnRick · January 12, 2011

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast/post/_/id/17046/settlement-allows-usf-leavitt-to-move-on

Should have been done last year. But, as predicted, he settles so he can get on with his career:

He and his attorneys had planned a long, protracted fight that would have had Leavitt and the school air a lot of grievances in a public setting, which wouldn't have left either party looking good.

Exactly. If the (Festivus) grievances had been aired, it may have further damaged his career. I think what happened is Leavitt saw the light, heard from potential employers about how the hanging lawsuit was a hindrance, and saw Mike Leach passed over for good jobs as well.

With all of the current upheaval, it will be interesting to see who takes him. My guess is he won't be unemployed much longer. Looks like Tulsa needs a DC...and a head coach!

Dude, get over yourself. All you did was say his attorney needed to copy what Mangino's attorney did and settle as soon as possible.

http://www.gomeangreen.com/forums/topic/56379-leavitt-documents/page__view__findpost__p__520149

Leavitt docs

Includes:
-letter from USF to Leavitt giving him notice of firing and the reason
-official investigation report
-contract signed in 2008
-copies of school policies that Leavitt's action ran afoul

Guys, I think Jim Leavitt is a good football coach. However, this lawsuit is not going to be settled soon. I've also looked into his attorney, some of his past work, and I believe he is driving this thing further than it should be driven.

Mediation was held on February 22, but the two sides could not agree on a settlement. That a mediation occurred tells me the school was willing to settle and put the matter behind them. In subsequent interviews I've read and watched, Leavitt's attorney appears to be dead set against it. Leavitt defers to his attorney; he doesn't know any better.

The bottom line is this - we've got enough problems as it is. There are enough witnesses against Leavitt that, I believe, if his attorney keeps pushing, it will not turn out well for him.

The last thing we need is to hire a guy in a lawsuit and have the whole thing publicized while he's our coach. We should not consider a coach that we might have to let go within a span of two years because of actions at a prior school.

The whole incident is dirty. I'm wholly uninterested in what MizzouTigers' opinion or connection is. He has obvious bias.

My bias is toward finding the right coach for my alma mater. To me, that means bringing someone in with a clean slate. Contrary to what MizzouTigers says, this isn't a slam dunk issue in favor of Leavitt. This will drag out because there are enough witnesses to drag it out; and, he has an attorney apparently hell bent on dragging it out.

Overall, I believe you've got to compare Leavitt's situation with that of his former co-worker Mark Mangino. The terms of that settlement are here: KU-Mangino Settlement

As you can read, the settlement between KU and Mangino specifically state that neither side admits liability. The University agreed to withdraw the internal investigation, the letter of firing, and talking points. Mangino also agreed to waive any future claims under certain Federal laws.

For this, Mangino received a lump sum cash payment of $3 million, health insurance premiums on a current policy, and life insurance premiums on a current policy. Both sides agreed not "to disparage" the other publicly.

The records are under seal, and the agreement is between Mangino and "Kansas Athletics, Inc." Kansas Athletics, Inc. is a non-profit that helps fund the KU athletic department. USF also has one, and it is clearly a part of Leavitt's contract.

Part of the struggle between USF and Leavitt's lawyer is which documents are public and which are private. The USF foundation is private and wouldn't have to release certain documents to Leavitt's attorney. Those deemed public would.

As you can see, this will drag on...and on and on. Mangino's attorney, in my eyes, did the right thing by getting him a good settlement and out of further negative publicity as quickly as possible. It is my opinion that Leavitt's attorney has unwisely chosen the other course; one that will prevent his client from gaining another coaching position until he is done posturing.

What's the old saying? Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor. I would suggest that Leavitt's attorney lacks discretion by pushing this thing.

Then you spent post after post, exaggeration after exaggeration trying to convince everyone here that Leavitt was a horrible person and that USF were the good guys in all of this. When in fact Leavitt's attorney's had to take USF to task to get even a third of what he rightly deserved and it actually took a little shorter time than most thought it would. USF wasn't going to budge an inch in all of this and the fact that they went out of their way to trump up a bunch of horse$#!t charges to destroy his reputation, then refused to even give him his final monthly severance pay, and then requiring a state judge to force them to hand over evidence back in September proves it. Had you been his attorney he would have been screwed. Not that I have anything against Mccarney or regret him being here today, but as it turned out, had we hired Leavitt when we could have hired him we would have made an incredible hire of a coach we could have never been able to afford before and gotten a coach few would have ever thought we could have acquired, and now all the legal problems you spent weeks railing about would have been in the past.

Rick

UNTMike81 · January 12, 2011

If Tulsa needs a DC I hope coach Deloach is in the running. Said it before I'm a coach Deloach homer. Thought a lot of good coaches were lost during TD tenure. By that I don't mean all the HS coaches TD brought with him when he was hired!!!

UNT90 · January 13, 2011

But, as predicted, he settles so he can get on with his career:

You mean as predicted by pretty much the entire GMG board, right?

Many of us said that was the reason we should hire him, because the case would be settled. I recall you being on the other side of that fence because Leavitt had an "ambulance chasing lawyer."

But, in the end, who really cares

Rudy · January 13, 2011

Leavitt won't be unemployed for long. I hope we made the right choice.

UNTLifer · January 13, 2011

Why do we even care?

FirefightnRick · January 13, 2011

http://bayarea.sbnation.com/san-francisco-49ers/2011/1/13/1932735/jim-harbaugh-49ers-coaching-staff-update-mike-johnson-jim-leavitt

Rick

Green Dozer · January 13, 2011

Leavitt is not the coach here, was not gonna be the coach, and in the end, we made a good hire. Leavitt could not even get a good reference from one of his former assistants here. Mccarney got good references from both coaches here with whom he had coached with before. Can we just move on or do we need a Leavitt forum?

greenminer · January 13, 2011

Leavitt is not the coach here, was not gonna be the coach, and in the end, we made a good hire. Leavitt could not even get a good reference from one of his former assistants here. Mccarney got good references from both coaches here with whom he had coached with before. Can we just move on or do we need a Leavitt forum?

Leavitt built a program from scratch, taking it to a top-5 ranking in ten years and a loss away from the national title game.

Until someone comes in here and does the same, he will be talked about.

KRAM1 · January 14, 2011

Leavitt built a program from scratch, taking it to a top-5 ranking in ten years and a loss away from the national title game.

Until someone comes in here and does the same, he will be talked about.

Then maybe we should start threads about every other coach who has no connection to UNT and who has never coached here and who turned a program around. man, that would be a very long list of threads. Some folks here act like Leavitt was the only one to ever do that...can we move on please...as Dozer said, never coached here and was not going to coach here. Good coach? Sure IF past history can be any predictor of future success in such things.

UNT90 · January 14, 2011

Then maybe we should start threads about every other coach who has no connection to UNT and who has never coached here and who turned a program around. man, that would be a very long list of threads. Some folks here act like Leavitt was the only one to ever do that...can we move on please...as Dozer said, never coached here and was not going to coach here. Good coach? Sure IF past history can be any predictor of future success in such things.

Point is, he could have coached here if the administration wanted him. They didn't. They also chose Coach McCarney over Fran (Texas St. ) and Kragthorpe (rumored as a candidate at Tulsa).

Like it or not, the comparision of McCarney to Fran and Krag (if he gets the Tulsa gig) will be made early, often, and for a long time on this board. I kinda think they should be, considering we had our choice of the 3 coaches.

GrayEagle · January 19, 2011

It may have cost him a legitimate shot at the North Texas job but I think that he gained a couple of million dollars by pushing the issue. If memory serves he was only offered a few hundred thousand dollars.