CLT OBS: Butch Davis Interested in Carolina Job

General NCS Football76

The Charlotte Observer reported today that former Miami Hurricanes and Cleveland Browns Head Coach, Butch Davis has expressed an interest in the vacant UNC-CH Head Football Coaching position.

Former Cleveland Browns and Miami Hurricanes football coach Butch Davis told the Charlotte Observer on Tuesday that he is interested in North Carolina’s coaching position.

“I don’t know what direction they’re going to go in,” he said by telephone, “but I definitely am interested, and I’m interested in getting back into coaching.”

From SFN’s perspective, Butch Davis would be huge home run for Dick Baddour and Carolina. We think that Davis is far and away the best potential name that will have a legitimate interest in the Carolina job.

Interestingly, the manner in which Carolina has chosen to execute this transition (in the middle of the season) has the potential to end up being sheer genius or complete folly.

With Butch Davis currently unemployed, it would not be bad form for either side to get connected during the season. Carolina could ultimately land this year’s coaching prize while all other potential suitors (Miami? Michigan State? others?) are still playing out their seasons waiting for December to arrive. In the end, Carolina could lock up Davis and ultimately save – or even improve – their strong 2008 recruiting class.

Of course, if Davis chooses to wait and see what fate ultimately befalls coaches like Larry Coker at Miami, Mike Shula at Alabama (Davis is rumored to have a big interest in the Crimson Tide’s job) and Dennis Franchione at Texas A&M then Carolina may have to walk a very tight rope with potential “back-up” options like the head coaches of Tulsa and Rutgers.

Something unexpected inside of college football could always arise as the season ends (Florida State? Penn State? Etc?) and start a chain reaction of changes for which Davis may want to make sure that he is available. I know that it is HUGE reach…but to illustrate the point, consider if Bobby Bowden chose to retire and Mack Brown decided to end his career at his alma mater. Davis would be an amazing catch for the University of Texas. It is just fun speculation; but that is what we do as fans.

If nothing else, wouldn’t Davis be smart to wait until all the chips fall in the off-season to make his ultimate decision?

If UNC ultimately lands Davis, then the heat on both Chuck Amato and Lee Fowler will increase significantly.

People will be quick to (righfully) point to Baddour, who is roundly viewed as being an idiot, landing a big fish for the secondary sport at UNC. Compared to Fowler who executed a search to allow NC State to be publicly rejected by at least four coaches during his search for the primary sport at NC State.

Something to ponder regarding NC State’s frustration with Carolina football in recent years. Consider that UNC-CH has had 9 straight years of mediocre-to-poor-to-downright bad football, yet NC State is 3-5 against them in those 9 years despite the Wolfpack being favored in six or seven of the eight games. Yuck.

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General NCS Football

76 Responses to CLT OBS: Butch Davis Interested in Carolina Job

  1. SixPack 10/25/2006 at 11:11 AM #

    This is a point from left field about Amato but…..I remember when he was being considered for the NCSU job and the slam against him re no HC experience was countered by saying that he was associate HC at FSU and basically ran all the day to day activities (and FSU was very successful).

    Hmmm…he was probably successful because he had a good staff to work with (one selected by Bowden). All the mayhem and ineptness we have on the field now points toward poor organization (and/or follow through) of the assistant coaches. This in turn points to CTC’s inability to retain talented assistant coaches !

  2. Dan 10/25/2006 at 11:40 AM #

    “he was probably successful because he had a good staff to work with ”

    Mark Richt and Mickey Andrews. Nice.

    I’m with you guys on the staff. He hasnt had a chance to have any continuity. That’s why I am really firm in my support for him….for now. lol. Plus, I know Trestman has struggled, but the new guys are really playing well. Evans, B&B, the new WR’s. Ant Hill.

    Now, if someone would just start recruiting OL and LB.

  3. redstormrising 10/25/2006 at 11:57 AM #

    retaining staff is hard for Chuckie because NCSU won’t match the offers by other schools to provide assistants with long term contracts with bigger pay. Our former defensive coordinator who left for Florida I believe was offered like 300k per year versus the 100+ he was getting from State and that was a 3 year contract.

  4. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 10/25/2006 at 12:46 PM #

    Is Butch Davis interested in Carolina or is he trying to get back to Miami?

    “I don’t know what direction they’re going to go in,� he said by telephone, “but I definitely am interested, and I’m interested in getting back into coaching.�

    Should the rest of the quote read:

    … So it is my intent to milk the Carolina situation dry to improve my chances at some football schools and start a bidding war.

    Odd that this announcement of interest in ‘getting back into coaching’ went public so quickly after the Bunting presser.

  5. Dan 10/25/2006 at 12:52 PM #

    Personally, I think Butch is playing a Cal. But if no one plays Memphis, he could wind up there.

  6. Tarheel86 10/25/2006 at 12:54 PM #

    Or maybe he actually is interested in Coaching the flagship university. Crazier things have happened.

  7. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 10/25/2006 at 1:00 PM #

    Tarheel- like Frankie Beamer? Flagship of ACC football? I’m sure being the coach of the ‘flagship’ of the NC university system is about the last thing Davis is thinking about.

  8. Tarheel86 10/25/2006 at 1:09 PM #

    well he might be interested in coaching under one of top athletic departments in the country…mac brown was…and would still be in chapel hill if dick baddour was not the worst AD (next to fowler of course).

  9. redfred2 10/25/2006 at 1:09 PM #

    The powder blue flagship.

    My spin? OK there Chuck, can I please eliminate a consonant?

  10. CaptainCraptacular 10/25/2006 at 1:14 PM #

    What does ‘flagship’ even mean anyway? Your school is the ‘leader’ of all the public universities in the state? What does it lead exactly? Our schools share a set of administrators who from on high set some rules and guidelines. But other than that our universities follow their own paths. Neither ‘follows’ the other in anything. Our path is our schools choice, not an imitation of Carolina’s choice. We do our thing and you do yours. We produce veternarians and engineers and computer scientists and agriculture scientists. Your school produces doctors and lawyers and psychiatrists and educators. Both schools serve fairly equal portions of societies needs. Flagship my arse.

  11. redfred2 10/25/2006 at 1:16 PM #

    Supposed to be “PAT” not Chuck. DAMNIT TO HELL, I cannot get even one joke right!!!

  12. Dan 10/25/2006 at 1:22 PM #

    “mac brown was” – yep, just like I’m willing to climb the stairs in order to get to my bedroom.

    Butch Davis may very well be a great coach, but lets not forget the things he had going for him at Miami. Namely, the built in recruiting. Its not too hard to recruit down there if you are Miami. Next, I’m not so sure Miami even has an on-campus compliance office. What I mean is that I wouldnt call the Miami job you’re typical college atmosphere with regards to NCAA rules.

    His NFL HC stint was painfully short. And those are his only HC opportunities. He was a coordinator with the Dallas Cowboys before the Miami gig. This is no sure route to success. Now, he will get instant buzz, but its no guarantee. Their best bet is someone with a little more experience at a non-gangsta program.

  13. Tarheel86 10/25/2006 at 1:27 PM #

    “Both schools serve fairly equal portions of societies needs.” Of course! One school is not “better” than another because, quite frankly, they are fundamentally different from one another. As you so aptly pointed out, we make doctors, you make vets.

    Flagship rather refers to a highly respected university. It boasts not only world class academics (as its one of the few public schools that cracks the top 25) but a hell of an athletics department as well. As Caulton Tudor pointed out today, “It hasn’t happened lately, but UNC should have a team that regularly goes to bowl games and has a chance to win the overwhelming majority of its games. A bad season should be 5-7, and its best teams should win eight or nine times.”

    So my point was that while UNC is not thought of as a “football school”…it has potential. UNC boasts beautiful stadium, great facilities, and an amazing campus, not to mention social life which is on par with any other school in the nation…all in all the school sells itself to recruits. With the right man in the job, watch out for UNC football. The Rams Club is willing, and if Baddour wakes up and quits being a moron, the University can pay near top salaries.

  14. redfred2 10/25/2006 at 1:34 PM #

    Just in case that went over Tarheel86’s head, the consonant was the letter “L” in the above phrase.

    Go ahead there Vanna.

  15. CaptainCraptacular 10/25/2006 at 1:34 PM #

    *It boasts not only world class academics (as its one of the few public schools that cracks the top 25)*

    Top 25 as determined by who? All totally subjective and completely influenced by pre-conceived notions of one schools academics. No-one could possibly with any non-biased accuracy judge and rank schools academic prowess. Any educational ranking of public universities you read in even the most respected magazines are total subjective bunk.

  16. Tarheel86 10/25/2006 at 1:43 PM #

    Look CaptainCraptacular,
    You sound very much like every damn liberal professor I’ve had at UNC. You boil things down to a level of such relativism that if you hold steadfast to your logic, nothing can be talked about. You’re point is taken. Rankings are biased and imperfect. However, they do serve a purpose, and they do measure more than nothing…which is why you undoubtedly get excited when NC State’s athletic teams crack the top 25. Bickering about rankings is stupid…my point remains the same. It’s a hell of a place, therefore a top coach might, to your dismay, actually want to coach football in Chapel Hill.

  17. CaptainCraptacular 10/25/2006 at 1:49 PM #

    And my whole point: Flagship my arse. If I can debunk this myth I will, any chance given.

    Elsewhere in this thread. I pointed out that if Davis were to go to UNC my pack friends who think otherwise should be concerned.

  18. Dan 10/25/2006 at 1:50 PM #

    “It’s a hell”
    – you got that right. And that’s coming from a fan. Although not the ringing “prison” endorsement that Rashad gave it.

    But seriously, when the Chapel Hill crowd fires the fun police and actually allows people to celebrate football even half as much as Hallow-freaking-ween then maybe they will start something.

    For real. Chapel Hill priorities:

    1) Chapel Hill
    2) Basketball
    3) Halloween
    4) Abolishing parking
    5..

    1045) Football

  19. Tarheel86 10/25/2006 at 2:20 PM #

    First of all, Dan, I grew up in Raleigh, and I’ve been to your campus…which, ironically enough, was the reason I chose to come to this campus. Call it prison all you want…the rest of us call it actually pleasant to look at.

    And secondly, I agree with you that the fans need to get more into it. But to suggest that there is something inherent about Carolina Fans which will forever prevent them from getting excited about football…I say look no further than your own university. I’ve been to many a game in Carter-Finely. I remember when the top corners of the upper deck were always empty, and the grass hill only half full. Football used to be as lame in Raleigh as it is in Chapel Hill now. Then what happened? You got a coach who got people excited. You better hope the same doesn’t happen in Chapel Hill or you might be crushed below the mediocrity you now embrace so vehemently.

  20. Dan 10/25/2006 at 3:03 PM #

    “which, ironically enough, was the reason I chose to come to this campus”

    There is no accounting for tast.

    “Call it prison all you want”

    I didnt. Rashad McCants did….more or less.

    “I remember when the top corners of the upper deck were always empty, and the grass hill only half full”

    And we still partied like crazy pre-game. We still tore the goal posts down the week before and the week after losing to Baylor. The tailgating party didnt start with Chuck. Hell, I was out in the lot at 9 am all through the O’Cain disaster. We cared more about football at State when we went 3-8 while the old App State coach had you guys 10-1. Its Chapel Hill. It might as well be Paris….with less parking.

  21. Dan 10/25/2006 at 3:04 PM #

    ^ taste.. beat you to it

  22. Tarheel86 10/25/2006 at 3:11 PM #

    I must admit though, Dan, your list of chapel hill priorities was not only hilarious, but very true. Kudos

  23. GAWolf 10/25/2006 at 3:32 PM #

    Goal Posts – 1
    UNC Fans – 0

  24. 82grad 10/25/2006 at 3:46 PM #

    carolina doesn’t have a hard on for davis, he is just one of the top (and first) canidates. most canidates are still employed by other schools.
    you guys can’t deny that unc has national attention and popularity. part of it is the basketball team, of course. most of you here are just afraid that their football program will become as good as their other sports.

  25. redfred2 10/25/2006 at 3:53 PM #

    82grad

    Not really. We just wish they could give folks like you, something to talk about during football season.

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