Coaches / Head coach / Jim Leavitt
Career
64
not coaching now
Rating68recent
Peak68best 5 yrs
Career64whole career
confidence
Jim Leavitt
Head coach
Headline rating: as head coach. Every role he has been rated in is below.
Chemistry
—
index in development
Seasons here—
Programs5
Stints5
Career path
Head-coaching stints since 1936; assistant roles since 2016
As head coach
Rating68Peak68Career64
1997–2021 · 14 seasonsRecord 95-57National titles 0Great seasons 0 (top ~7% of all teams that year)
- Rating 68: his whole career, recent seasons weighted most, measured as how far his teams stood above their era, crediting him with half of what each program already was when he arrived (about the share that, historically, follows a coach to his next job), fading as the program becomes his own.
- Peak 68: best five-season stretch, 2006–2021 at South Florida and SMU (34-18).
- Career 64 (#276 since 1936): total accomplishment over 14 seasons (95-57), 0 national titles, 0 elite seasons; full credit for the program he inherited.
Rating = who he is: his whole head-coaching career (since 1936), weighted toward recent years — how far his teams stood above their contemporaries, how much he lifted programs, his great seasons and titles. Form = the last two seasons. Career = the all-time ranking number.
| Season | Team | Record | Season rank | vs contemporaries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | SMU | 0-0 | #44 | +0.57 SD |
| 2009 | South Florida | 8-5 | #52 | +0.23 SD |
| 2008 | South Florida | 8-5 | #45 | +0.28 SD |
| 2007 | South Florida | 9-4 | #11 | +1.46 SD |
| 2006 | South Florida | 9-4 | #43 | +0.45 SD |
| 2005 | South Florida | 6-6 | #34 | +0.62 SD |
| 2004 | South Florida | 4-7 | #92 | -0.83 SD |
| 2003 | South Florida | 7-4 | #77 | -0.44 SD |
| 2002 | South Florida | 9-2 | #40 | +0.51 SD |
| 2001 | South Florida | 8-3 | #56 | +0.12 SD |
| 2000 | South Florida | 7-4 | #112 | -2.03 SD |
Season rank = his team among all major-college teams that year; vs contemporaries = how far above the average team (in standard deviations).
As defensive coordinator
Rating76Peak85
His defense against its preseason projection (value over expectation) and the unit's opponent-adjusted quality.
| Season | Team | Unit (EPA/play) | Over expectation | Season score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | SMU | -0.04 | -0.02 | -0.40 |
| 2020 | Florida Atlantic | 0.04 | 0.06 | 0.71 |
| 2018 | Oregon | 0.04 | -0.01 | 0.18 |
| 2017 | Oregon | 0.09 | 0.16 | 1.86 |
| 2016 | Colorado | 0.12 | — | 0.61 |
Season score: 0 = an average season in this role; positive = better.