This is tough. With the worries of Al Golden being lured back to his alma mater, I've bought the kool-aid that Butch Davis would be the right guy at the right time. Great talent evaluator/recruiter and defensive-minded coach who could take Al's heavy lifting and return the program to its championship ways.
But it isn't and won't likely ever happen. Donna or any self-respecting college president couldn't hire him here. Too many red flags. Too much bad history. Too much of an ethically challenged past.
- - - Let's start with his most recent history at UNC. Butch can find a friendly writer or two (Bruce Feldman, for starters) and supporters to say he was cleared of any wrongdoing, but the fact is he was fired as his program stood accused of academic fraud-related charges. This is a cardinal sin in academia and with university presidents. It was his program. If he didn't have a clue, then shame on him. Finally at UNC, one of his top assistants and a guy with a dirty rep in the coaching fraternity, John Blake, was found to be working a scheme to steer UNC players to an agent. Again, Butch was the CEO and bears responsibility, whether he knew or not.
- - - Let's move on to his Miami days. His departure was a train-wreck. He and his agent played games long before his departure, using the media to link his name with every job that came open.
(check this story....) http://si.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1021742/1/index.htm
Graph from the story: When a college coach leaves under these circumstances, the waters are always bloodied by his departure, but Davis's exit was uncommonly painful. Not only had he restored the Hurricanes to a place among the elite, salving the wounds resulting from the 1995 probation that cost Miami a crippling 31 scholarships, but he had also repeatedly denied interest in leaving for the pros, despite the widespread assumption by fans and media that the former Dallas Cowboys assistant lusted after an NFL job. Three days before the Sugar Bowl, at a time when three NFL teams were searching for a coach and four more would follow suit, he responded to a rumor that he was soon to visit with Browns management by saying, "Don't they have a coach? I'm happy in South Florida. My family loves it there. I plan to coach at Miami for a long time." Davis didn't just issue denials, he sold them.
--- Let's move on to the clincher. Has anyone forgetten the distasteful stories floating around after the funeral of Sean Taylor? Don't know if they were true, but ****** stuff if they were. Butch appparently spent time in Miami after the funeral trashing the Miami program, trying to bull**** our recruits and going so far as to portray Miami as unsafe and a place kids needed to get away from.
(check this story) http://www.carolinasucks.com/pn/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=237
From the story . . . It appears that Butch Davis will go to unethical extremes to land football talent. Just hours after attending ex-Hurricane Sean Taylor's funeral in Miami, sitting in the front row next to Randy Shannon and Larry Coker, (link) Butch was visiting Hurricane recruits and using negative recruiting tactics to lure them to UNC. First of all, to try and lure Miami commits moments after attending Taylor's (a Miami alum) funeral is pretty darn low. But Butch went far beyond that. Below is a report a Miami web site:
"Multiple sources are telling me he (Butch Davis) came to South Florida for the Sean Taylor funeral and went to visit a bunch of Miami commits and tell them that Randy is getting fired next year and they should not go to Miami, that they should come to Carolina.I cant relay yet what I am hearing o*n the Patrick Johnson front because it is way too messy and very easily could be a rumor along the lines of what many have been hearing recently regarding Patrick and other schools trying to get him. But if Patrick Johnson suddenly visits and/or commits to North Carolina, you guys will be able to put two and two together pretty quickly."
Manny Navarro posted in the Herald, "Forston told me other schools have calling him of late trying to trick him and other recruits by telling them coach Randy Shannon has o*nly o*ne year left o*n his contract. Forston and Harris both told me they've been receiving calls from UM coaches to stop the false information from spreading. I got a phone call from a UM assistant who pleaded with me and said "please put it out there that coach Shannon's contract runs through 2012. People are spreading garbage that he's o*nly got o*ne year left. That's bull."
Another well-connected Canes fan added this: "Butch Davis also told him, why would you want to live down here when all these people are getting shot. Marcus said, " You had no problem living down here with your wife for six years."
But it isn't and won't likely ever happen. Donna or any self-respecting college president couldn't hire him here. Too many red flags. Too much bad history. Too much of an ethically challenged past.
- - - Let's start with his most recent history at UNC. Butch can find a friendly writer or two (Bruce Feldman, for starters) and supporters to say he was cleared of any wrongdoing, but the fact is he was fired as his program stood accused of academic fraud-related charges. This is a cardinal sin in academia and with university presidents. It was his program. If he didn't have a clue, then shame on him. Finally at UNC, one of his top assistants and a guy with a dirty rep in the coaching fraternity, John Blake, was found to be working a scheme to steer UNC players to an agent. Again, Butch was the CEO and bears responsibility, whether he knew or not.
- - - Let's move on to his Miami days. His departure was a train-wreck. He and his agent played games long before his departure, using the media to link his name with every job that came open.
(check this story....) http://si.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1021742/1/index.htm
Graph from the story: When a college coach leaves under these circumstances, the waters are always bloodied by his departure, but Davis's exit was uncommonly painful. Not only had he restored the Hurricanes to a place among the elite, salving the wounds resulting from the 1995 probation that cost Miami a crippling 31 scholarships, but he had also repeatedly denied interest in leaving for the pros, despite the widespread assumption by fans and media that the former Dallas Cowboys assistant lusted after an NFL job. Three days before the Sugar Bowl, at a time when three NFL teams were searching for a coach and four more would follow suit, he responded to a rumor that he was soon to visit with Browns management by saying, "Don't they have a coach? I'm happy in South Florida. My family loves it there. I plan to coach at Miami for a long time." Davis didn't just issue denials, he sold them.
--- Let's move on to the clincher. Has anyone forgetten the distasteful stories floating around after the funeral of Sean Taylor? Don't know if they were true, but ****** stuff if they were. Butch appparently spent time in Miami after the funeral trashing the Miami program, trying to bull**** our recruits and going so far as to portray Miami as unsafe and a place kids needed to get away from.
(check this story) http://www.carolinasucks.com/pn/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=237
From the story . . . It appears that Butch Davis will go to unethical extremes to land football talent. Just hours after attending ex-Hurricane Sean Taylor's funeral in Miami, sitting in the front row next to Randy Shannon and Larry Coker, (link) Butch was visiting Hurricane recruits and using negative recruiting tactics to lure them to UNC. First of all, to try and lure Miami commits moments after attending Taylor's (a Miami alum) funeral is pretty darn low. But Butch went far beyond that. Below is a report a Miami web site:
"Multiple sources are telling me he (Butch Davis) came to South Florida for the Sean Taylor funeral and went to visit a bunch of Miami commits and tell them that Randy is getting fired next year and they should not go to Miami, that they should come to Carolina.I cant relay yet what I am hearing o*n the Patrick Johnson front because it is way too messy and very easily could be a rumor along the lines of what many have been hearing recently regarding Patrick and other schools trying to get him. But if Patrick Johnson suddenly visits and/or commits to North Carolina, you guys will be able to put two and two together pretty quickly."
Manny Navarro posted in the Herald, "Forston told me other schools have calling him of late trying to trick him and other recruits by telling them coach Randy Shannon has o*nly o*ne year left o*n his contract. Forston and Harris both told me they've been receiving calls from UM coaches to stop the false information from spreading. I got a phone call from a UM assistant who pleaded with me and said "please put it out there that coach Shannon's contract runs through 2012. People are spreading garbage that he's o*nly got o*ne year left. That's bull."
Another well-connected Canes fan added this: "Butch Davis also told him, why would you want to live down here when all these people are getting shot. Marcus said, " You had no problem living down here with your wife for six years."
