Personally I would think coming back to coach college football in this day in age would be difficult for Butch. Times have changed drastically in the relatively short period of time since he's been away from coaching. Plus the energy level required in recruiting would be to much for an aging Butch to expend.
Sadly I think is time is up, especially at a program like Miami. Maybe a smaller less demanding program would be a fit.
If I'm Pete Garcia I'd have Butch in my sights.
That's a fair point. But believe it or not, Butch is actually younger than Nick Saban by 17 days and Saban seems to be managing a major program and expending energy just fine, even though their scenarios are completely. I know the college game has changed since Butch left UNC, but I hope we can all agree that after one acclimation year Butch would hit the ground running. Butch's biggest strengths, other than his player evaluations, were his assistant coaching evaluations. He'd lock up talented coordinators that could recruit their pants off in a similar manner to Saban and Butch is a lot more likable in person than he is as far as recruiting down here and in general.
His time may be up, but the fact that he has all the good qualities I've named make him a smart gamble. The worst he could do is still be better than the three coaches that have succeeded him. The Butch-Saban comparison may be apples to oranges given the different circumstances, but with Butch's comments in mind, it shows me that he has enough energy to get after it and really try to correct a mistake he made in early 2001.
Saban started his Bama gig at like 54 or something and now has Bama on cruise control. Plus his budget is 10xs that of what Miami coaches have to work with making his job easier.
Butch would have to hustle more at an older age than when Saban took over Bama.
People just got to let go of the Butch idea. It really would not be a smart gamble. At this point Butch would just be a retread.
We don't need retreads.
The architects of the UM Dynasty and the Head Coaches that sustained it were all early to mid 40 coaches. They had just the right amount of experience and were reaching the pinnacle of their professional performance. Heck Butch in his mid 40's.
But to get a washed out retread at 62 to come back GTFOH with that bullcrap as if he was the only coach available.
I think the very fact that Butch has been through here before is why he wouldn't have hustle as much. The relationships that Golden is still attempting to build and not having overwhelming success with are already in place if Butch comes back. There may be different coaches at those schools, but his respect is still in place. Just as important is that he won't be viewed as some Yankee interloper/outsider. Golden is still fighting that stigma.
The Butch idea is easily the best one on the table for the exact reason you just mentioned. We don't have the budget for a current high profile coach as it is and firing Golden would only make the problem that much worse with the buyout. Every hiring of a coach is essentially a gamble. Hiring Butch is a smarter one than any options that can be thought of now given the school's history of extreme cheapness.
What's wrong with a retread and why don't we need one? It's not like the last three coaches that weren't retreads were successful to this point. And if age is really your greatest concern, that's a gross oversimplification. Being 62 doesn't mean he can't recruit, evaluate talent, hire competent assistants, or put together a winning team. The drafting/recruiting of players like Lavonte David, Robert Quinn, and Quinton Coples speaks to his elite eye for talent and development especially, which I think has been missing the most from the Golden teams.
The fact that Butch is 62 and a, "retread," as you say it are not nearly the massive problems you're making them out to be. His being a retread may be a strength as he can sell coaching Ed Reed, Bryant McKinnie, Reggie Wayne, and Santana Moss. That luxury of NFL players we can brag about to recruits is closing and Butch would be able to salvage that by bragging that he actually coached them, despite the fact that their NFL production has dwindled.
He's not the only coach available, but if you have another real suggestion, I'd love to hear it even though it's only April. I think Butch would come back here and be very successful again, despite being old and a, "retread," as you say. He's also a likely hire to the administration because of his affordability and popularity with the fans. The only two things holding him back would be how he left in 2001 and the NCAA problems. He's not the only coach available, but he's the best available, smartest all-around choice available, and will likely remain that way come December.
