Jim Leavitt Jim Leavitt ( born December 5 , 1956 ) is a former American football player and current linebackers coach for the San Francisco 49ers . He served as the head coach at the University of South Florida from the football program ' s inception in 1997 until 2009 , compiling a record of 95 – 57 . Early years . Leavitt grew up in St . Petersburg , Florida , and was a star quarterback for Dixie Hollins High School . After graduating from high school , Leavitt pursued studies at the University of Missouri , graduating in 1978 . For the next two years , Leavitt worked as a graduate assistant . He then left for the University of Dubuque , where he spent two years as their football team ' s defensive coordinator . Following his years there , he went to Morningside College in 1982 , spending one year as special teams coordinator before being promoted to defensive coordinator . After a brief stint at the University of Iowa where Leavitt pursued a doctorate degree in psychology , he followed Bill Snyder to Kansas State University in 1990 . At Kansas State , Leavitt first spent two years as linebackers coach then four more as defensive coordinator , leading the Wildcats from relative obscurity to having a consistent , highly regarded defense . South Florida . On December 12 , 1995 , Leavitt was hired as head coach for the new football team at the University of South Florida . Leavitt signed his first class in 1996 for the first varsity season in 1997 ; all players redshirted in 1996 . The South Florida Bulls football program began play as an independent at the NCAA Division I - AA ( now FCS ) level . After four seasons the program moved up to I - A ( now FBS ) , also as an independent . After two years as an Division I - A independent , the Bulls joined Conference USA , but stayed for only two seasons . The Bulls landed in their current home , the Big East Conference , prior to the start of the 2005 season . In December 2005 , after the team ' s first season as members of the Big East , Leavitt led the Bulls to their 100th game and first ever bowl game at the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte , North Carolina . One year later , Leavitt led the team to its first ever bowl win in the PapaJohns . com Bowl against the East Carolina Pirates in Birmingham , Alabama on December 23 , 2006 . Even before Leavitt led the Bulls to a bowl game , there was a rumor that he was heavily courted by the University of Alabama , where officials thought so highly of him that they sent him an offer and a contract to sign . He was also pursued by Kansas State after his mentor there , Bill Snyder , stepped down . On both occasions , Leavitt chose to stay with the program he had created . The success of South Florida ' s 2006 season spawned yet another round of interest in Leavitt ' s services , as his name was mentioned in national publications as a candidate to replace Larry Coker at the University of Miami and Mike Shula again at Alabama . Again , Leavitt expressed his desire and intent to stay with the program he established at South Florida and removed himself from consideration for those positions . On September 16 , 2007 , Leavitt ' s Bulls team cracked the top 25 in both major polls , entering the AP Poll at # 23 and the Coaches ' Poll at # 24 , for the first time in the program ' s 11 - year history . On September 28 , Leavitt ' s Bulls stunned the # 5 West Virginia Mountaineers at Raymond James Stadium for , perhaps , the biggest win thus far for the South Florida football program . South Florida ' s ascension into the top 25 from entry into I - A / FCS is the fastest in NCAA history , surpassing Boise State ' s rise by a mere seven weeks . The Bulls achieved another record on September 30 when they became the fastest program of the modern era to reach the top 10 , landing at # 6 in the AP Poll and # 9 in the Coaches ' Poll . On October 14 , South Florida received its first ever BCS ranking as the # 2 team in the nation behind only the Ohio State Buckeyes . That week the team was also ranked # 2 in the AP Poll and # 3 in both the Coaches ' and the Harris Interactive Poll . That ranking lasted only one week as the Bulls lost to Rutgers , 30 – 27 , on October 18 in Piscataway , New Jersey . On March 11 , 2008 , Leavitt signed a two - year extension to his original seven - year , $ 7 million contract that he signed in 2006 . The new contract paid Leavitt $ 12 . 6 million for the 2008 – 14 seasons , with an annual starting salary of $ 1 . 5 million increasing by $ 100 , 000 each contract year . Leavitt ' s teams have consistently ranked among the national leaders in penalties . On January 8 , 2010 , Leavitt was fired after an investigation by USF officials found that he had struck a player in the locker room during halftime of a game against Louisville the previous November 21 . Leavitt claimed he was merely trying to console the player and never struck him . School officials found that Leavitt was not truthful about what happened , and also found that he had interfered with the investigation . ESPN ' s Ivan Maisel reported that Leavitt ' s interference , which included telling several players and coaches to change their stories , was the biggest factor in the decision to fire him . " The Tampa Tribune " reported that school president Judy Genshaft and athletic director Doug Woolard felt they had no choice but to fire Leavitt after he refused to admit he had done anything wrong . Running backs coach Carl Franks was named interim coach of the Bulls until January 14 , 2010 , when Skip Holtz was hired as head coach . On January 2011 , a settlement of $ 2 . 75 million was reached between USF and Jim Leavitt . The settlement includes $ 2 million for " salary and benefits " as well as a payment of $ 750 , 000 " acknowledging Coach Leavitt ' s contributions to building USF ' s nationally respected football program . " San Francisco 49ers . Coach Leavitt was hired to his first NFL coaching job when he was hired by Jim Harbaugh to be the 49ers ' linebackers coach for the 2011 season .