Before the University of Miami hires a new face to replace fired coach Al Golden, it will take reportedly take a look at an old one: Butch Davis.
The Hurricanes are considering Davis as a possible replacement now that former school president Donna Shalala is no longer in charge, according to the Miami Herald. Shalala took a job with the Clinton Foundation in May, long before Golden's firing came to pass, but reportedly was not inclined to consider Davis if the head-coaching job opened.
If that's the direction UM wants to go, the negotiation would certainly be an easy one, as Davis has publicly expressed an interest in returning.
Davis coached Miami from 1995-2000, and from there led the Cleveland Browns from 2001-2004. He hasn't coached since 2011, when he was fired by North Carolina amid an academic fraud scandal. Davis was not implicated by the NCAA in the case, though he was in charge of the program for the last four years of what UNC determined was an 18-year stretch of academic impropriety within its athletic program.
One thing Davis could help restore at Miami, because of his background as a former coach there, including five years as an assistant in the 1980s, is a stronger recruiting presence in South Florida. Miami's historical success has always been marked by its recruiting dominance in the Dade and Broward County areas, one of the nation's true hotbeds for high school talent.
"Besides being a great recruiter, Butch can bring people into the stadium and that has to be something we consider," a UM trustee told the Herald. "And Butch was cleared at North Carolina. Why does this tarnish him?"
Despite his South Florida roots, however, Davis managed just one season of double-digit wins (11-1 in 2000) in his six seasons as UM's head coach. He's also not the only possibility for the job who has strong UM ties. Alabama offensive line coach Mario Cristobal played at UM, coached there as an assistant for three years, and built the program at FIU from 2007-2012.
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