Oregon Football: Willie Taggart and Jim Leavitt Will Require Patience
Willie Taggart and Jim Leavitt together with Oregon Football will yield positive results, but they will need time to develop.
The Oregon Ducks have hired Colorado Defensive Coordinator Jim Leavitt to become their Defensive Coordinator. It was reported on Wednesday as Willie Taggart’s first hire as Head Coach.
What does Leavitt bring to the Oregon Ducks? For Taggart, it is about familiarity. Both men were Head Coach for the University of South Florida and both have been brought up under the Harbaugh Philosophy which has been well documented.
Jim Leavitt has an extensive resume that has taken him from the college game, to the National Football League where he worked with Patrick Willis and Navarro Bowman, and back to college at Colorado as Defensive Coordinator and now to the Oregon Ducks.
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The former Buffaloes Defensive Coordinator is a Players Coach. He cares about his guys, and works them pretty hard. He is the kind of coach you want to play for. All of these comments were made from Bowman.
As far as what he will bring to Eugene in the form of Scheme – it could be either the 4-3 or the 3-4. Leavitt has experience in both. His success at Colorado over the last two seasons fell with a 3-4 style. Having two ‘Harbaugh guys’ will bring something unique.
We all know Jim Harbaugh has a Defense that is more Smashmouth style. I expect that the Oregon Football will have a more Mean Green look starting in 2017 then they have in season’s past.
Jim Leavitt and Willie Taggart combine for 88% of all wins at South Florida; now they both coach at Oregon.
— Colt Smith (@FootballExpert) December 15, 2016
Leavitt can also recruit. This should be a big benefit for an Oregon Football program in some flux right now. A new Defensive Coordinator should be able to know if technique will help or he needs a new person to fill a specific position.
What is known is he gets guys to tackle – a big issue with the Oregon Defense in 2016, Taggart and Leavitt at the same school could prove to be a great match for the years ahead. Oregon Fans will need to be patient in 2017 while these two get their respective philosophies in place.
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The benefit: they are somewhat the same which may yield positive results for years to come.