UPDATE: Snyder on Leavitt, own coaching future
***UPDATED 11/20***
In Monday's Big 12 Coaches' Teleconference, K-State Coach Bill Snyder said "We had a vacancy on our staff, and I offered Jim (Leavitt) the opportunity to come. The rest of it is something that I'm not totally aware of. The administration would be better served to answer that. I would love to have had him here."
Snyder was also asked about his coaching plans beyond this season and responded, "Like I said so many times, when it is over, whenever that comes, I’ll sit down and go through the same process as I do every year and go from there."
***UPDATED 11/19***
After K-State's 45-40 win at Oklahoma State on Saturday, Bill Snyder was asked by a reporter if he was aware of the story written by Brett McMurphy, which is referenced in full later in this content item.
His response?
"I don't know ... I don't know who Brett McMurphy is."
Another reporter followed up, asking if he had seen or heard of the report.
"I've heard that there's an article out there," Snyder said. "I don't know who wrote it or what it said."
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A report from national college football insider Brett McMurphy states that Kansas State had an agreement with current Oregon Defensive Coordinator Jim Leavitt to agree to be a head-coach-in-waiting under Bill Snyder in 2017 before taking over the program in 2018.
In a special edition of The KSO Show McMuprhy answers questions from KSO Senior Writer Matt Hall, and Rivals.com Recruiting Analyst Rob Cassidy also joins Matt and Managing Editor Jeffrey Martin to discuss the report and look at the K-State coaching job in general.
MCMURPHY REPORT CREATES A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS
College Football Insider Brett McMurphy sent shockwaves through the Kansas State fan base this morning with a report that current Oregon defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt had an agreement to come to K-State before the start of 2017 as head-coach-in waiting under Bill Snyder.
We're going to give you our five thoughts on the situation, but first, here's McMurphy's complete report from his personal Facebook page:
Jim Leavitt had a verbal agreement last year to become Kansas State’s head coach-in-waiting and become its current coach in 2018, but KSU coach Bill Snyder nixed it because he wanted his son Sean as his replacement.
Sources said Kansas State’s top officials, including president Richard Myers, and the school’s highest-profile boosters were all on board with Leavitt, then a Colorado assistant, joining KSU's staff and then replacing the legendary Snyder after the 2017 season. Leavitt and the school had an agreement, guaranteeing Leavitt $3 million if he wasn’t named K-State’s coach by Jan. 1, 2018.
However, last December, Snyder pushed back on Leavitt, a former KSU assistant, being named his replacement because Snyder wanted his son Sean, currently KSU’s associate head coach and special teams coordinator, to replace him, sources said.Snyder’s K-State contract stipulates when he’s done coaching at KSU he will be a “special assistant to the athletic director” and “shall also have appropriate input … regarding the selection of the next head football coach.”
After Snyder refused to give his approval of Leavitt as his replacement, Leavitt left Colorado to become defensive coordinator at Oregon. Leavitt’s contract at Oregon includes a clause that he won’t have to pay UO a buyout “should he voluntarily terminate this agreement to become the head football coach at Kansas State University.”
In late 2016/early 2017, Kansas State officials were prepared to approach Snyder again about approving Leavitt as his replacement. However, Snyder, who turned 78 on Oct. 7, was diagnosed with throat cancer, so the school opted to no longer pursue the plan for Leavitt to replace Snyder.In 2015, Snyder told me he wanted his son Sean to follow in his footsteps.
“I have a strong belief, and my preference is Sean,” Snyder said. “He knows more about our football program than anyone. He runs our program. I have great confidence in him.“It's easy to say, ‘He's your son,’ but I don't wish coaching on anyone,” he said, adding he would support his son “if that's what he wants to do.”
In his 26th season at KSU, Snyder is 207-110-1. A member of the College Football Hall of Fame, Snyder is responsible for the greatest turnaround of a program in college football history.
The desire to have Leavitt return to Kansas State as its coach-in-waiting wasn’t the first time the Wildcats reached out to Leavitt.Late in the 2005 season, K-State contacted Leavitt, then USF’s head coach, about being Snyder’s replacement when Snyder first retired. USF had two games remaining and if the Bulls won out, they could have played in a BCS bowl. KSU wanted an immediate commitment from Leavitt, who told KSU he wouldn’t talk to them until after the season. KSU wouldn’t wait and hired Ron Prince instead.
Leavitt came to USF from K-State, where he was an assistant from 1990-95, the final four seasons as a co-defensive coordinator with Bob Stoops.Leavitt was at USF from 1995 to 2009. He was a San Francisco 49ers assistant from 2011-14 and Colorado’s defensive coordinator in 2015 and 2016 before taking the Oregon DC job in December.
FIVE QUESTIONS ... FIVE ANSWERS
1. Is the report accurate?
Before we speculate on anything else, this question has to be answered first. We had McMurphy on The KSO Show today, and he did a nice job of explaining his confidence in this report and his track record. Those who have followed McMurphy through his time at ESPN and CBSSports.com speak highly of his track record as well, and we fall on the side of believing his report is well-sourced and accurate.
2. If accurate, what does it mean?
Well, it would mean a number of very interesting things, but two jump out to me.
First, it would say that during/after a nine-win season, significant work was being put in to find a successor. That's interesting because it would signal that losing had nothing to do with the perceived feeling of the need to find a new coach. And second, this was being done without contacting Snyder. If he were involved the whole time, in theory, it then would have been unlikely he would have nixed the plan after the fact.
3. What impact does this have on Snyder going forward?
Is "no idea" a good answer? It could go so many different ways. One could argue that this news could prompt Snyder to either voice his long-term (at least to next year) commitment to the program in an attempt to silence the rumors. Or it could give him a greater understanding that there is a group of fans that feel ready to move forward and find a successor as well. Ultimately, this is the hardest question to tackle. At the end of the day, whatever was going to happen with Snyder before this report will likely still happen.
4. What impact does this have on Jim Leavitt?
He clearly has interest in being a candidate for this job, and many think he'd be a good fit. If the position came open, he'd still be a candidate. Perhaps the leading one? However, if this report is true, it means Leavitt (or somebody on behalf of Leavitt) negotiated a deal that Snyder wasn't involved in. Will that impact Snyder's perception of Leavitt or vice versa? Jeffrey Martin reported on our podcast that he believes Leavitt was approached about the job not only in 2005 but also in 2008, before he got word that Snyder wanted the job back. So, Snyder's impression of Leavitt clearly matters - at least to Leavitt.
5. If it's not Leavitt, who would the candidates be when the time comes?
We'd invite you to listen to our podcast to hear the opinions of both McMurphy and Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Rob Cassidy, but a lot of the usual suspects came up.
Leavitt, Sean Snyder and Brent Venables. Current Arkansas coach Bret Bielema also came up, as did Wyoming coach Craig Bohl and Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo. There's obviously no opening (K-State sent out a release stating Snyder is still the coach and will be as long as he wants) but that won't stop the speculation on this subject.