Abuse accusations aside, Leavitt clearly knows how to build a program. And under normal circumstances, I don't think we could afford him, as he was making around a million a year at USF. But I'm sure there aren't too many D-IA schools knocking on his door now, so he probably would take a paycut.

Schnelly makes around $350K a year (not including incentives or bonuses), so who else would work that cheap and still draw in recruits. Also if we hired Leavitt, FAU would get so much pub from "second chance/ redemption story" angle.

But Shcnelly is contracted through 2010, with an option to stay through 2011. FAU can't afford to buyout Schnelly and pay a new coach, so Howard will be here for at least one more season.

Abuse accusations aside, Leavitt clearly knows how to build a program. And under normal circumstances, I don't think we could afford him, as he was making around a million a year at USF. But I'm sure there aren't too many D-IA schools knocking on his door now, so he probably would take a paycut.

Schnelly makes around $350K a year (not including incentives or bonuses), so who else would work that cheap and still draw in recruits. Also if we hired Leavitt, FAU would get so much pub from "second chance/ redemption story" angle.

But Shcnelly is contracted through 2010, with an option to stay through 2011. FAU can't afford to buyout Schnelly and pay a new coach, so Howard will be here for at least one more season.

Walty12, I totally agree with your comment!

How we all deal with a loss like that is impossible to gauge. And don't get me wrong, I was very sad for his loss (I have 5 kids, so beleive me when I say I can sympathize, and I don't know how I would react to a loss of any one of them).

Right now I just want Coach to suck it up, get ANGRY (show Owl country some spirit and that you still care) if he wants to, and shake this progrm and it's coaches and players up. I feel we should lose to USF a this point, BUT, we have to at least be competitive and not embarrass ourselves (as we usuallly do) vs, the big boy schools.

Let's get this ship righted, get the stadium deal done and signed, enjoy our groundbreaking and……………

Go Owls!!!!!!!!!

Walty12, I totally agree with your comment!

How we all deal with a loss like that is impossible to gauge. And don't get me wrong, I was very sad for his loss (I have 5 kids, so beleive me when I say I can sympathize, and I don't know how I would react to a loss of any one of them).

Right now I just want Coach to suck it up, get ANGRY (show Owl country some spirit and that you still care) if he wants to, and shake this progrm and it's coaches and players up. I feel we should lose to USF a this point, BUT, we have to at least be competitive and not embarrass ourselves (as we usuallly do) vs, the big boy schools.

Let's get this ship righted, get the stadium deal done and signed, enjoy our groundbreaking and……………

Go Owls!!!!!!!!!

And…..have a W against most of the sun-belt teams on our schedule so we can have a winning record this season.

GeorgiaOwl said

Walty12, I totally agree with your comment!

How we all deal with a loss like that is impossible to gauge. And don't get me wrong, I was very sad for his loss (I have 5 kids, so beleive me when I say I can sympathize, and I don't know how I would react to a loss of any one of them).

Right now I just want Coach to suck it up, get ANGRY (show Owl country some spirit and that you still care) if he wants to, and shake this progrm and it's coaches and players up. I feel we should lose to USF a this point, BUT, we have to at least be competitive and not embarrass ourselves (as we usuallly do) vs, the big boy schools.

Let's get this ship righted, get the stadium deal done and signed, enjoy our groundbreaking and……………

Go Owls!!!!!!!!!

And…..have a W against most of the sun-belt teams on our schedule so we can have a winning record this season.

GeorgiaOwl said

Walty12, I totally agree with your comment!

How we all deal with a loss like that is impossible to gauge. And don't get me wrong, I was very sad for his loss (I have 5 kids, so beleive me when I say I can sympathize, and I don't know how I would react to a loss of any one of them).

Right now I just want Coach to suck it up, get ANGRY (show Owl country some spirit and that you still care) if he wants to, and shake this progrm and it's coaches and players up. I feel we should lose to USF a this point, BUT, we have to at least be competitive and not embarrass ourselves (as we usuallly do) vs, the big boy schools.

Let's get this ship righted, get the stadium deal done and signed, enjoy our groundbreaking and……………

Go Owls!!!!!!!!!

Since we're being ridiculous and coming up with random coaches that haven't shown any interest in our program then I'm making a suggestion as well!

We need a guy that can recruit south florida and will think that a D1 coaching job is a step up and that sort of salary would be huge for him so my choice is Roland Smith of Miami Northwestern Senior High School. I know you'll say that a high school coach won't make it at this level, look at Todd Dodge, but what we need is someone that knows south florida, knows what talent looks like and can convince kids to come to our school. I think a guy like Roland is the way to go, he's an ex NFL player as well as being one of the most successful head coaches in high school football history.

So if we're coming up with silly ideas, he's mine!  ;D

Since we're being ridiculous and coming up with random coaches that haven't shown any interest in our program then I'm making a suggestion as well!

We need a guy that can recruit south florida and will think that a D1 coaching job is a step up and that sort of salary would be huge for him so my choice is Roland Smith of Miami Northwestern Senior High School. I know you'll say that a high school coach won't make it at this level, look at Todd Dodge, but what we need is someone that knows south florida, knows what talent looks like and can convince kids to come to our school. I think a guy like Roland is the way to go, he's an ex NFL player as well as being one of the most successful head coaches in high school football history.

So if we're coming up with silly ideas, he's mine!  ;D

What? It's not ridiculous. Why would Leavitt, at this point, have expressed interest in a position that isn't open yet?

This thread is about the possibility of Leavitt at FAU when there is an opening. The recruiting process would go both ways. You don't think Angelos would have him on a list of candidates? You don't think Schnellenberger, when asked who he'd like to turn the keys over to, might think Leavitt since they established a relationship back when Howard was trying to get some advice on building our program from scratch?

Yes, Leavitt has baggage. So did Schnellenberger, Jarvis, Walters, Doherty… we hire guys with baggage who were previously successful. So it's not ridiculous to consider him. He's established himself as a winner in Florida, recruiting-wise he knows the area and building a program rather than maintaining a program is obviously something he can do. He has not been snapped up yet and he may not be by the time we look for a new coach. He doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who is ready to retire.

There are legitimate reasons not to take him, of course. Can he still recruit well without the BCS affiliation and more importantly, can he convince parents who might be wondering if he'd attack their son too? Would FAU want to take a chance on him since he's currently embroiled in a legal battle with USF?

He may never be affiliated with FAU. Or maybe he will be and turn this team around. It's worth considering.

What? It's not ridiculous. Why would Leavitt, at this point, have expressed interest in a position that isn't open yet?

This thread is about the possibility of Leavitt at FAU when there is an opening. The recruiting process would go both ways. You don't think Angelos would have him on a list of candidates? You don't think Schnellenberger, when asked who he'd like to turn the keys over to, might think Leavitt since they established a relationship back when Howard was trying to get some advice on building our program from scratch?

Yes, Leavitt has baggage. So did Schnellenberger, Jarvis, Walters, Doherty… we hire guys with baggage who were previously successful. So it's not ridiculous to consider him. He's established himself as a winner in Florida, recruiting-wise he knows the area and building a program rather than maintaining a program is obviously something he can do. He has not been snapped up yet and he may not be by the time we look for a new coach. He doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who is ready to retire.

There are legitimate reasons not to take him, of course. Can he still recruit well without the BCS affiliation and more importantly, can he convince parents who might be wondering if he'd attack their son too? Would FAU want to take a chance on him since he's currently embroiled in a legal battle with USF?

He may never be affiliated with FAU. Or maybe he will be and turn this team around. It's worth considering.