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Butch Davis, former head coach at the University of Miami and the NFL's Cleveland Browns, is the 33rd head coach at the University of North Carolina and the ninth since the ACC was formed in 1953. He was named the Tar Heels' head coach on November 13, 2006, and formally introduced at a press conference on November 27. Since taking over the reins in Chapel Hill, Davis has been relentless in his approach to turning around the program. He took his time hiring a staff, often saying he wanted to "get it right, no matter how long it took." The staff includes several assistants with whom he has worked with in the past and seven of the nine have previously either been head coaches, college coordinators or NFL assistants. Despite having just over five weeks to recruit, Davis and his staff flourished, signing a consensus top 20 class, led by the nation's top defensive player Marvin Austin and North Carolina high school All- Americas Greg Little, Ryan Houston and Dwight Jones. Following one of the most successful signing days in Carolina history, Davis took part in the Rams Club speaking tour, squeezed in 15 days of spring football practice - including a spring game that drew a record crowd - and oversaw renovations to the Tar Heel locker room and weight room. Increases in season ticket sales and a proposed expansion to Kenan Stadium are two more pieces of evidence that Davis has the Tar Heel faithful excited for the future. Davis brings instant credibility to the football program. He has coached in 11 postseason bowl games as an assistant or head coach, including two apiece in the Fiesta, Orange and Sugar Bowls, and he either recruited or coached nearly all the players from Miami's 2001 national championship team. He also won two Super Bowls as an assistant coach with the Dallas Cowboys. He enters the season ranked among the top 15 winningest active coaches in Division I. An excellent motivator and technician, Davis recruited or coached a number of players at Miami who were selected in the NFL Draft, including an amazing 28 first-round picks (see list below). Prior to his arrival in Chapel Hill, Davis served as an analyst on the NFL Network for two seasons. There he was able to watch and study the latest college football offensive and defensive schemes. Yearning to return to the college coaching ranks, Davis surveyed the college football landscape, and when the Carolina job came open, he was immediately interested.
"When I looked at everything North Carolina had to offer in terms of a great campus setting, access to players and the proper balance between athletics and academics, I knew this would be a good fit for me and my family," said Davis. Davis was head coach for six seasons at the University of Miami (1995-2000) and led the Hurricanes to a 51-20 record, three Big East Conference championships and four postseason bowl wins in as many appearances. He took over a Miami program faced with NCAA sanctions that restricted the number of scholarships in his first three seasons. However, his Hurricane teams finished ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 on four occasions, including No. 2 in the nation in 2000 when the Canes went 11-1 and beat Florida, 37-20, in the Sugar Bowl. In his first year in Coral Gables, Davis helped the Canes earn a share of the Big East Conference Championship by winning seven straight games to close the `95 season. The team would have received an invitation to a BCS bowl game, however, Miami declined the invitation due to NCAA sanctions previously approved by university officials for violations prior to Davis's arrival. Davis again led Miami to a share of the Big East title in 1996 and catapulted the Hurricanes to a top 20 ranking and their first bowl victory in five years with a 31-21 win over Virginia in the Carquest Bowl. The following season he led Miami to a 46-23 win over North Carolina State in the 1998 Micron PC Bowl. Davis's 1999 squad began the year with a 23-12 victory over Ohio State in the Kickoff Classic and capped the season with a 28- 13 victory over Georgia Tech in the Toyota Gator Bowl, the Hurricanes' first New Year's Day bowl game under Davis. In his final year at Miami (2000), the Hurricanes posted an 11-1 mark, including a 37-20 victory over Florida in the Nokia Sugar Bowl. That team was second in the nation in scoring, fifth in total offense, fifth in scoring defense and eighth in pass defense. Davis also emphasizes the importance of academics and his Hurricanes earned recognition from the American Football Coaches Association for outstanding graduation rates in each of his six seasons. Davis left Coral Gables following the 2000 season to join the Cleveland Browns. In his first season in Cleveland in 2001, Davis led his young team to an impressive 7-9 record, exceeding by two the expansion club's combined victories from 1999 and 2000 (5-27). Cleveland led the NFL in takeaways with 42, including a league-high and team-record 33 interceptions. The Browns defense also scored 32 points (four interception returns, one fumble return, one safety). His second season as head coach resulted in the Browns earning their first playoff appearance and best regular season mark since 1994, despite 34 of the 53 players on the team's final active roster having four years of NFL experience or less. Cleveland finished the season with a 7-3 mark over its final 10 games, including victories in four of its final six outings, the best record over the final six games of the season for the franchise since 1988. Cleveland was Davis' second stint in the NFL. He was a defensive assistant with the Dallas Cowboys from 1989-94 and was defensive coordinator in 1993 and 1994. The Cowboys won consecutive Super Bowls in 1992 and 1993 and played in one other NFC championship game. Davis helped Dallas post one of the most spectacular turnarounds in sports history as the Cowboys went from a lowly 1-15 squad in 1989 to one of the most dominant NFL programs in the 1990s. He was the defensive line coach in the Cowboys' 52-17 win over Buffalo in Super Bowl XXVII and served as defensive coordinator in the Cowboys' 30-13 win over Buffalo in Super Bowl XXVII. As defensive line coach in 1992, Davis helped the Cowboys lead the NFL in rushing defense. As coordinator a year later, the Cowboys set a team record by allowing just 21 touchdowns in 16 regular-season games and allowed one offensive touchdown or less in 12 of 16 games. Davis was also defensive coordinator during Barry Switzer's first season as head coach in 1994 and helped Dallas reach the NFC Championship Game, where eventual Super Bowl champion San Francisco denied its bid for a three-peat. Davis's defense was No. 1 in the league in total defense (269.6 yards per game) and pass defense (172.0 yards per game), and third in scoring defense (15.5 points per game). He coached three Pro Bowl starters - end Charles Haley, tackle Leon Lett and safety Darren Woodson. The three defensive starters were the most for the Cowboys since 1983. Davis was defensive line coach at Miami from 1984-88 under head coach Jimmy Johnson, whom he also coached under for five years in Dallas and five years at Oklahoma State. The Hurricanes went 52-9 in those five years and won the national championship after beating Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl to cap a perfect 12-0 record in 1987. He coached 15 linemen who went on to play in the NFL, including All-Americas Bill Hawkins, Cortez Kennedy, Russell Maryland, Daniel Stubbs and the late Jerome Brown. Davis' line was a key part of the Miami defense that finished second in the nation in both scoring defense (9.7 points per game) and total defense (242.0 yards per game) in 1988. The 1986 Hurricanes set a school record with 49 sacks, broke the mark with 50 in 1988, and held opposing rushers to fewer than 2.3 yards per carry in 1987 and 1988. Davis entered the collegiate coaching ranks on the offensive side of the ball as an assistant on Johnson's Oklahoma State University teams from 1979-83. At Oklahoma State, Davis coached receivers and tight ends while also serving as recruiting coordinator. Davis played college football at the University of Arkansas for Coach Frank Broyles. A knee injury curtailed his college career, and he became a student assistant coach for the Razorbacks. He earned a bachelor's degree in biology and life science in 1974. His coaching career began as a volunteer assistant in 1973 at Fayetteville High School in Arkansas. He had stints in Oklahoma at Pawhuska High School (1974-75) and Sand Springs High School (1976-77) as an assistant coach and at Tulsa Rogers High School (1978) in his first head coaching assignment before joining Johnson's staff at Oklahoma State. He and his wife, Tammy, have a teenage son, Drew. Paul Hilton (Butch) Davis is a native of Tahlequah, Okla. Butch Davis Yearly Coaching History First-round draft picks coached or recruited by Davis as head coach at the University of Miami Year-by-Year Coaching Record, University of Miami 2000 11-1 ranked #2 in both polls Big East champions 1999 9-4 ranked #15 in both polls 1998 9-3 ranked #20 AP, #21 coaches 1997 5-6 1996 9-3 ranked #14 in both polls Big East co-champions 1995 8-3 ranked #20 AP Big East co-champions 6 yrs. 51-20 Pre- or Postseason History Miami (assistant coach) Oklahoma State (assistant coach) Super Bowls |
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