Jim Leavitt - Defensive Coordinator - Staff Directory - Florida Atlantic University Athletics

Staff Directory

Jim Leavitt

Title:
Defensive Coordinator
Phone:
561-297-1094

With nearly 40 years of experience coaching on the defensive side of the ball, Jim Leavitt has built standout defenses at both the college and professional levels.

At FAU

Named Florida Atlantic's defensive coordinator Dec. 22, 2019. Will assume responsibility for a defense that set an FAU single-season record for takeaways with 33
In his first season leading the defensive charge, the Owls finished 10th in all of FBS in scoring defense (17.4 points per game), 16th in pass defense (188.2 YPG) and 24th in total defense (342.8 YPG)
Those marks were second, fifth and fourth, respectively in C-USA
Also in the conference, the defense was fifth in rushing defense (154.6 YPG) and tied for first in total sacks (30th in the country, with 25 in just nine games)
The unit was also fifth in all of FBS in red zone defense

At Florida State

Joined FSU’s staff as a defensive analyst and midway through 2019 he was elevated to an on-field defensive line coach

At Oregon

Leavitt joined the Ducks as defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach on Dec. 16, 2016, arriving in Eugene as one of the top defensive minds in football

At Colorado

Before Oregon, Leavitt spent the 2015 and 2016 seasons as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Pac-12 rival Colorado, shaping the Buffaloes’ defense into one of the nation’s best
Named the FootballScoop Defensive Coordinator of the Year, as well as being named a finalist for the Broyles Award which goes to the nation's top assistant coach
Leavitt brought the Colorado defense to new heights in 2016, leading a unit that finished the regular season eighth in the nation in yards per play (4.69), 17th in the nation in total defense (328.3 ypg), 13th in passing defense (182.5 ypg) and 18th in scoring defense (20.5 ppg)
Helped lead the Buffaloes to an appearance in the 2016 Pac-12 title game
In his first year at CU in 2015, Leavitt’s unit climbed to seventh in the Pac-12 in total defense (416.9 ypg), up four spots from 2014, and had the fifth-largest difference in opponent point differential (11.5 points) in the nation

At San Francisco 49ers

Leavitt was instrumental in leading the San Francisco 49ers to a 44-19-1 record, two NFC West titles, one NFC Championship and an appearance in Super Bowl XLVII as the team’s linebackers coach
Under head coach Jim Harbaugh, Leavitt tutored a linebacker corps that produced two first-team All-Pro selections, in Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman, and was one of the top defenses in the league during his time in San Francisco

At USF

Leavitt was hired as USF’s head coach in 1996 assuming and conquering the challenge of building a collegiate program from scratch
In roughly a year-and-a-half, he hired a staff, recruited players and gave the Tampa community its first taste of collegiate football
The school competed for the first time as an independent in the I-AA (now FCS) level for its first four years of existence (1997-2000), compiling a 27-17 record and was ranked for 24 consecutive weeks at one point
USF and Leavitt made the jump to the I-A (FBS) level in 2001, competing for two seasons as an independent and compiling records of 8-3 and 9-2
After spending two seasons in Conference USA, USF joined the Big East in 2005 and earned its first-ever bowl appearance in the Meineke Car Care Bowl against North Carolina State
Leavitt would keep USF on the rise over his final four seasons as its head coach, peaking at No. 2 in the polls in 2007 with a 6-0 start before finishing 9-4 and falling to Oregon in the Sun Bowl
Records of 8-5 in each of his last two seasons with the program gave Leavitt 11 winning seasons in his 13 years as the Bulls’ leader and a 95-57 (.625) overall record, including a 68-40 (.630) mark and five bowl appearances (3-2) in five seasons as an FBS program

At Kansas State

Leavitt joined Kansas State’s staff in 1990 as linebackers coach for two seasons before adding co-defensive coordinator (along with Bob Stoops) to his resume
He helped Kansas State, one of the least successful programs in all of Division I-A in the 1980s, to a tremendous turnaround that saw the Wildcats post a 45-23-1 mark with three bowl appearances in his six seasons with the program
Leavitt turned a defense that was ranked 93rd in the nation in his first season into the nation’s top unit in 1995, producing four first-team defensive All-Americans

At Iowa

After 10 years at small Iowa schools, he accepted an academic internship at the University of Iowa, where he joined the Hawkeye staff as a graduate assistant for the 1989 season

At Morningside

Leavitt spent five seasons (1982-87) at Morningside College, the first as special teams coordinator and then next four as defensive coordinator

At Dubuque

His first full-time coaching position came in 1980 at the University of Dubuque (Iowa) as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach as well as the head track coach and head strength coach

At Missouri
Began his coaching career as a graduate assistant in 1978 at Missouri, the same school where he lettered as a safety from 1974-77

Personal
Hometown: Harlingen, Texas
Prep Career: Dixie Hollins High School (Florida) where he lettered in football and baseball
College: Played both football and baseball at Missouri
Education: Bachelor’s degree in behavioral science and health education from Missouri in ’78; completed his master’s degree, also from Missouri, in counseling
Family: Leavitt and his wife Jody have three daughters, Deandre, Sofia and Isabella

Leavitt Year-by-Year

Years	School	Position
2020-Present	Florida Atlantic	Defensive Coordinator
2019	Florida State	Analyst/Defensive Line
2016-17	Oregon	Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
2015-16	Colorado	Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
2011-14	San Francisco 49ers (NFL)	Linebackers
1996-09	USF	Head Coach
1992-95	Kansas State	Co-Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
1990-91	Kansas State	Linebackers
1988-89	Iowa	Intern/Graduate Assistant
1983-87	Morningside College	Defensive Coordinator
1982	Morningside College	Special Teams Coordinator
1980-81	Dubuque (Iowa)	Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
1078-79	Missouri	Graduate Assistant (Defense)

As a Head Coach Year-by-Year

Year	School	Record	Conf. Record - Notes
2009	USF	8-5	3-4 (Big East)
2008	USF	8-5	2-5 (Big East)
2007	USF	9-4	4-3 (Big East)
2006	USF	9-4	4-3 (Big East)
2005	USF	6-6	4-3 (Big East)
2004	USF	4-7	3-5 (Conference USA)
2003	USF	7-4	5-3 (Conference USA)
2002	USF	9-2	Independent
2001	USF	8-3	Independent
2000	USF	7-4 (FCS)	Independent
1999	USF	7-4 (FCS)	Independent
1998	USF	8-3 (FCS)	Independent
1997	USF	5-6 (FCS)	Independent
Total	13 Seasons	95-57 (.625)	25-26 (.490)

FBS: 68-40 (.630)
FCS: 27-17(.614)

Postseason Experiences

Year	Event
2020	Montgomery Bowl
2016	Valero Alamo Bowl (Did not coach in game)
2013	NFC Conference Championship (NFL)
2012	Super Bowl (NFL)
2011	NFC Conference Championship (NFL)
2009	International Bowl
2008	MagicJack St. Petersburg Bowl
2007	Brut Sun Bowl
2006	Papajohns.com Bowl
2005	Meineke Car Care Bowl