Boulder, CO (SportsNetwork.com) - Colorado Buffaloes head coach Mike MacIntyre announced Thursday that former South Florida head coach Jim Leavitt would be joining the staff as defensive coordinator.
Leavitt was most recently the linebackers coach for the San Francisco 49ers for four seasons, working with star players such as Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman.
Prior to joining the 49ers' staff, Leavitt was the head coach at USF from 1997 to 2009, building the program from scratch and compiling a 95-57 record with three bowl wins. He was fired after an investigation found he struck a player in the locker room during a game and obstructed the investigation.
Leavitt also coached linebackers at Kansas State and acted as co-defensive coordinator with Bob Stoops under Bill Snyder.
Leavitt is taking over for Kent Baer, who left to become UNLV's defensive coordinator. Colorado's defense allowed 39 points per game in 2014.
MacIntyre also tabbed Joe Tumpkin, who spent the last five seasons as Central Michigan's defensive coordinator, as a defensive backs coach.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.