Willie Taggart was tasked with going out and hiring a good defensive coordinator upon his hire. He exceeded those expectations.

In fact, he went out and hired the best according to footballscoop.com.

To truly understand the job done by Jim Leavitt at Colorado, one must go back to the year before he was hired, in 2014. Miracles do not happen overnight in college football, after all. And in the year prior to Leavitt’s arrival, the Buffaloes were one of the worst defenses in the Power 5.

CU ranked 103rd or worse in total defense, yards per play allowed, rushing defense, pass efficiency defense, scoring defense and takeaways, stumbling their way to a 2-10 season. Just two short years later, Colorado ranked eighth nationally in yards per play allowed and takeaways, in or around the top 20 in scoring and total defense and third in pass efficiency defense.

That turnaround helped Colorado pull one of the most improbable worst-to-first seasons in recent memory, rocketing from a 5-40 all-time record in Pac-12 games to a 10-3 season with a Pac-12 South Division championship.

The hire of Jim Leavitt has been announced by Oregon officials. He's also expected to coach the linebackers at Oregon.

Oregon has yet to announce any other defensive staff members yet.

The Ducks were one of the worst defenses in the nation last season. Leavitt will once again have his work cut out for him turning around a poorly performing unit.

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