Davis hopeful he’ll continue to coach, sees no quit in Panthers
FIU has hit a new low in the Butch Davis Era.
Last Saturday’s 38-0 loss at Marshall marked the first time FIU had been shut out since Nov. 14, 2015, which was before Davis arrived as coach.
FIU is now 1-7 overall and 0-4 in Conference USA. The Panthers have also clinched their third consecutive losing season, and they have apparently been left out of the conference shuffling that has seen nine schools bolt from C-USA within the past two weeks.
The Panthers have lost 14 of their past 15 games and have not beaten an FBS team since 2019.
But despite everything that has gone wrong, Davis — who turns 70 on Nov. 17 — told the Miami Herald on Wednesday that he still wants to coach.
“That’s the plan,” Davis said. “I love coaching. I love the kids. I love helping them not only becoming the best football players they can be, but also to grow and mature and become good people.”
Whether FIU wants Davis back is another question. FIU athletic director Pete Garcia has declined — through his media relations people — repeated requests for an interview with the Herald.
Davis, whose five-year contract expires at the end of this season, was asked about any negotiations on a possible new deal.
“My agent has reached out and had some conversations, talking to the administration,” Davis said. “You’d have to talk to them about it.”
Garcia, 60, has been FIU’s athletic director since 2006. He had announced he was set to retire in 2018, only to rescind that decision when Davis had the football program rolling with two straight winning seasons and three bowl appearances.
Where FIU football goes from here is anyone’s guess, but the Panthers’ remaining schedule is not
overly taxing. FIU on Saturday will host Old Dominion (2-6, 1-3). FIU also has road games at Middle Tennessee (4-4, 2-2) and Southern Miss (1-7, 0-4), and its home finale against North Texas (2-6, 1-3) is set for Nov. 20.
Then again, Old Dominion, which took last season off due to the pandemic, is coming off a 23-20 upset win over Louisiana Tech. And Marshall, which just crushed FIU, needed overtime to defeat Old Dominion, 20-13, on Oct. 9.
Against Louisiana Tech, Old Dominion got a 100yard kickoff return for a score from LaMarreon James, 108 rushing yards on 25 carries from converted wide receiver Blake Watson and Nick Rice’s 46-yard game-winning field goal as time expired.
It was ODU’s first conference win since 2018.
Meanwhile, Davis said injuries have crushed his team.
“We’re minus 25 players — that’s a big part of it,” he said. “It’s not coronavirus. These are guys that have injuries. I’ve never seen so many players have surgery.
“It hurts your depth. It hurts special teams.”
Davis was asked if he saw players quit against Marshall.
“Not at all,” he said.
“Our guys competed.”
With FIU’s losses mounting and no contract extension as of yet for Davis, the question of recruiting came up during Wednesday’s interview. Davis said he has “no idea” how many players FIU will be able to bring into the program when the early signing period begins on Dec. 15.
“I know who committed,” Davis said. “Over the summer, we probably had 11 players who had been committed. So, we’ll see.”
Asked if any of those players have broken their commitment, Davis said: “No. Not yet.”