Coach of the Year?

At halftime of this evening's win over West Virginia, I was thinking that, if his Bulls won this game, USF's Jim Leavitt would have my vote for coach of the year. On the first drive of the third quarter, I changed my mind. With fourth and inches on their own 30 yard line, the Bulls went for the first down. That cinched it for me, win or lose, he had my vote. Not because I believe in recklessness, but because the man has game sense. As documented else where in this column by Dean, coaches don't seem to watch games, just game film. Coach Leavitt seems to be the exception, he went for the jugular with a team he believed he had to put away early. Later in the game, sitting on an 8 point lead with under three minutes left, USF BLITZED!! Hooyah! No sitting in the prevent and letting the back up quarterback drive down the field. I am convinced that bringing the pressure sealed the victory.

It is well documented that football coaches as a group, especially at the professional level, are more risk averse than circumstances warrant, almost always punting on fourth down for example. (See debunking of this proclivity here.) Great to see a coach with the fortitude to not worry about the critics, but ot just think, "How can we win this thing."