Friday, It's So Fetch! Vol. 12

It has a been a wild two days and it has even pressed this Fetch Friday to come out a bit early as the content of it was suitable for masses this evening. We've done a lot on Butch Davis here from the podcast that I did with Jim Young, to the radio spot on ESPN Triangle and the ESPN Radio spot done by Mark Paschal. More fall out from the Davis firing is Athletic Director Dick Baddour stepping down during the press conference today. In the immediate step of moving forward the Heels have moved on to name Everett Withers the interim head coach.



While answering the Withers question was nice there has been much speculation as to who the next full time leader of the Tar Heels will be. Plenty of people including some notable national pundits have weighed in with some options and the best theater has been the callers to local radio shows offering up the names they think fit best.

They're nice, they really are all nice but the fact is I cannot get excited or even start to look at coaches right now. Sure I've got a wish list of guys from around the nation; both head coaches and assistants, that I'd love to see come in and lead my boys. The problem, well their are two problems. The first is we don't have an AD. I can't come up with targets without know at least who is going to be doing the looking and hiring; his background, what his MO is and the like.

The second problem is the real big deal. That's all UNC based and the Board of Trustees and other big money donors "fear" associated with "Big Time" football. There exists an element of "I told you so" from some influential people in the UNC community that is a facet many have not considered and/or do not understand exists. Following the 1997 when Mack Brown had us as close to "top of the world" as we've been the Texas-Mack Brown-raise scenario was UNC's first glimpse of the modern era of big boy ball.

They balked.

Hired an assistant that, while capable as a defensive coordinator, was not prepared to take the reigns of the program. A steady decline ensued including back to back losses to Furman and Wake Forest (late 90's Wake, not 2006 Wake) where the Heels could not muster an offensive touchdown. The transition from Torbush to John Bunting was handled poorly as UNC botched the firing then got "Beamered" by the Virginia Tech coach. Coach Bunting was hired during a frantic scramble when other, more qualified options were still on the table, we all know how successful the Heels were during this stretch.

Basically, with that quick history lesson you got a recap of life as a UNC football fan from the 1998 season through the 2006 campaign. 9 years. Nine years. 27-45 in the ACC. 43-63 overall. 16-18 (9-15) for Torbush. 27-45 (18-30) for Bunting. Characterized by a lot of empty seats in the stadium and punctuated with epic beat downs on national television.

Until 2006 when folks at UNC decided a near decade had been long enough, it was time to get back into the football game. They stumbled through handling the dismissal of Coach Bunting but they targeted Butch Davis and decided to cast their lot with the guy who helped rebuild Miami. Not everyone was on board with Butch from the start but there was enough support to allow coach Davis to assemble a quality staff and hit the ground running in Chapel Hill.

The uneasy crowd grumbled louder as Davis won more than the Heels had in a decade because each offseason turned into a guessing game of which job would come flirt with the coach. Rumors about Notre Dame and Arkansas floated; Davis was given raises after 8-win seasons to ensure the programs continued success. The fact his paycheck crept closer to Roy's was something that those people couldn't quite understand as he was not going to Final Fours and his team wasn't cutting down nets.

Then he slipped. The impermissible benefits. Then the academic probe. Then the parking tickets. Then the Michael McAdoo trial revealing just how bad the plagiarism was.

The public image hits kept coming and while Butch himself was set to ride through the storm and try to fix his issues the higher ups could not take the way people were talking bad about them. They said screw it, this isn't worth it and cut him loose, as you know, a week before camp. This was as much a play to satisfy the academic folks embarrassed by the happenings as it is a move to satisfy the egos of the folks who are ashamed. The ones who could not believe this could happen at "their UNC."

So, with a tiny look into that mindset there's a reason why I don't have a list. This is not about hiring the coach who gets the Heels back on the track Butch Davis had them on. I know who those guys are. This is not about keeping the money machine turning and going from 8 to 10 wins. Most smart fans know how to do that. This is not about keeping recruits coming in and NFL draft picks going out.

This is about their fear. The paralyzing, gripping fear that "big time football will make us look bad." The petrifying fear that "there's so much money involved we just shouldn't play that game."

That's the difference between North Carolina's issue and Southern Cal or Ohio State. For those guys it is just a matter of "when" they return to the success they have grown accustomed to. It is important to them to be successful. That's what matters. There will measures taken to ensure this doesn't happen again but they will not throw in the towel on the goal of a national championship by hiring bargain basement coaches or altering their goals to "just be bowl eligible."

For UNC I fear this is not the case. It is not about "when" the Heels can get back to putting up what should be a standard 8-wins a year and pushing to break through for an ACC Championship. It is about will they even give a damn to try.

That's why there is no list for me.

Here's a quick, bonus guest spot on 1560 The Game in Houston, TX that I did yesterday, talking a little more Butch Davis and how the situation really unfolded. Download here if the widget is a no go folks.



Not much fetch this week folks given the firing.



A bit of #EmoMonday on a Friday because we haven't gotten to put any Amy Winehouse out there and quite honestly I was a fan of hers. According to her folks she passed away from "alcohol withdrawal" which is a bit scary because I had no idea that could even happen. She was talented and yeah, not a good look for the rock star life.

I don't have the energy to get fancy on you all, I've been up far too long and have been in ridiculous rage mode operating at an octane I didn't even realize that I had.