FIU’s List of Potential Coaching Candidates: Butch Davis

Career Path: Butch Davis is 122-79 in 10 years as a head coach at the collegiate level with stops at Miami (FL) and North Carolina, compiling a 64.8 winning percentage. During his time in Miami Davis was 71-51. At North Carolina he was 51-28. Davis also spent time as a head coach in the NFL for the Cleveland Browns going 24-35 in four seasons with one playoff appearance.

Buzz Surrounding The Hire: FIU would receive a good amount of publicity surrounding the hire and would show the college football world that they are serious about having a good football program. Davis is credited for building one of the best teams in college football history in the 2001 Miami Hurricanes. If Davis were to return to Miami South Florida media would gobble that storyline up.

What’s There To Like: Davis is a household name in South Florida homes. He would immediately command respect on the recruiting trail and would provide a definite uptick in recruiting. He also would bring a ton of attention to Conference USA as he would be the biggest name in the league. He’s a proven winner at the collegiate level. There would be a ton of hype surrounding FIU and for a program that’s been more known for their snafus off the field and poor record on it, it would be a great makeover.

Why They Should Proceed With Caution: Butch Davis left Chapel Hill under a cloud of sanctions as UNC was investigated for football players receiving improper benefits from agents. Davis denied any wrong doing but was dismissed by the school in 2011 due to the allegations. UNC vacated 16 wins over two years when he was head coach. FIU has had their run-ins with the NCAA and taking Davis would definitely raise some eyebrows. Its also been 6 years since he’s been in the college football world and the game could have passed him.

Why He Would Take The Job: Pete Garcia and Davis go way back to the 1990s when they worked together at Miami. Davis was interested in the Miami job last year before they hired Mark Richt but was never really given a look and he hasn’t been on the radar for any other jobs over the past few years.

Nowadays Athletic Directors go for young up-and-comers and stay away from retreads and being that he is 64, this is probably his last shot at getting back in the game. If Davis would like to add to his coaching legacy, FIU would be a nice final stop as he would be surrounded by great talent in an area he’s familiar with. He could end up being FIU’s Howard Schnellenberger if you will.

Analysis: This would be an amazing hire for Garcia and FIU. FIU would immediately generate some buzz in the college football world and win some headlines in a crowded media market. On the field FIU would be able to put some butts in the seat as Davis could create a winning product in no time. On a scale of 1-10 this hire would be a 10.