Written by In The Bleachers
| 13 November 2006
The Raleigh News & Observer is claiming that Butch Davis and the University of North Carolina, who have been flirting with each other for weeks, have come to an agreement and that the former Miami Hurricanes and Cleveland Browns head coach could be introduced as the Tarheels' new head coach as early as today. The Tarheels current coach, John Bunting, was fired on October 22nd but will finish out the season at UNC. The team is currently 1-9, heading into its final two games against rivals North Carolina State and Duke.
Davis had a distinguished career as an assistant coach, both in college and the NFL, under legendary Jimmy Johnson. He became the head coach at the University of Miami (FL) in 1995 and lead them to a 51-20 record and is credited with restoring the program after it received NCAA-imposed sanctions under prior leadership. In 2000, the 54-year old left the Hurricanes to become head coach/GM for the Cleveland Browns, where he struggled to a 24-36 record before resigning in midseason in 2004. He has spent the past two seasons out of coaching.
This should be an interesting marriage between Butch Davis and the University of North Carolina. Fans and alums of the ACC school have been very dissatisfied with the program's success since Mack Brown left for Texas in 1997. The program is well funded, in a BCS conference, owns a very nice set of facilities, yet has struggled to reach mediocrity since Brown's departure nearly 10-years ago. Expectations will be high for Davis, whose strengths include strong recruiting ties in the Southeast, particularly in the fertile state of Florida, as well as a broad network of assistant coaches on his rolodex to potentially fill out his staff. At the age of 54, it will be interesting to see whether Davis sees this as a final job that could establish his legacey or if he will use the job as a stepping stone to a more established program, as Brown did.
