Davis: I’d love second shot
UM job hopeful says he owes career to first stint at school.
CORAL GABLES — Butch Davis said publicly Monday something he has said privately for several years: He wants to coach the Miami Hurricanes again.
Davis, who has made a guest appearance every Monday this football season on 790 The Ticket radio, was asked the morning after Al Golden’s dismissal if he wants the job he held for six seasons.
“Obviously, I’d love to be considered for that opportunity,” he said. “Time will tell whether that’s the direction the school wants to go.”
Several program sources told the Post that Davis likely will be a candidate for the job. However, some decision-makers may have reserva- tions about the way he left North Carolina in 2010, amid academic scandal for which he was never implicated. He has not coached since. His departure for the Cleveland Browns in 2000 also may be an issue for some at Miami, but it’s unlikely Davis, at 63, would bolt for the NFL again.
Davis was a UM assistant under Jimmy Johnson from 1984-88 before following him to the Dallas Cowboys. He returned in 1995 and coached the Hurricanes through the 2000 season before leaving for the NFL again. He was 51-20 at UM.
“I’ve told people many, many times: Everything I ever accomplished as a coach has its roots in Miami,” Davis said. “When you spend 11 years there, you’ve got an awful lot invested in the community. Hopefully, my name will be one that will have an opportunity to be considered.”
For what little it’s worth, Las Vegas betting site Bovada listed Davis as the favorite (at 7-4) to coach Miami in 2016.
Walsh weighs in: Former UM quarterback Steve Walsh offered his thoughts on two former Hurricanes teammates who are potential candidates, Rob Chudzinski and Mario Cristobal.
Walsh, who coached at Cardinal Newman High before assuming his current role as director of football for powerhouse Bradenton-IMG Academy, said Chudzinski, 47, “comes with great perspective,” having been an NFL head coach after 10 years as a UM assistant. Chudzinski, the former Browns head coach, is associate head coach of the Indianapolis Colts.
Cristobal, 45, doesn’t have the same high-level experience, but developed a reputation as a strong recruiter when he was FIU’s coach for seven seasons. He has been Alabama’s offensive line coach since 2013 under Nick Saban.
“I remember him telling me how he had learned so much about organization and how to run a program,” Walsh said. “That was one of the reasons he took that job.”
No comment: Two young head coaches who will be on the short list of every major school with an opening — Memphis’ Justin Fuente and Houston’s Tom Herman — each declined to comment about the Miami job when asked during Monday’s American Athletic Conference coaches’ call. Their programs are each 7-0. Memphis is ranked No. 16. Houston is No. 18. UM could show interest in both.
Schedule: The ACC said Miami’s Nov. 7 home game vs. Virginia would kick off at 3:30 p.m. and be televised by the ACC’s regional networks.