Butch Davis

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For the American baseball player see Butch Davis (baseball player)
Butch Davis
UNC Head Football Coach
Date of birth November 17, 1951
Place of birth Tahlequah, Oklahoma
Sport Football
College North Carolina
Record with Team 0-0
Overall Record 51-21
Coaching Stats College Football DataWarehouse
Schools as a coach
1995-2000
2006-Present
Miami
North Carolina

Paul Hilton "Butch" Davis, Jr. is the current head football coach at the University of North Carolina. Previously, Davis was the head coach at the University of Miami and later the Cleveland Browns of the NFL.


Contents

[edit] Early years

Davis was born on November 17, 1951 in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. He attended high school at Bixby High School, in Bixby, Oklahoma and graduated in 1970. After graduation from high school, he attended the University of Arkansas and played defensive end for the Arkansas Razorbacks. Due to an unfortunate knee injury, Davis was side-lined after his freshman year. However, he would become a student assistant with the Razorbacks throughout the rest of his college days. After graduation from college, he had several assistant coaching positions at several high schools including Fayetteville High School in 1973,Pawhuska High School from 1974-1975, and Sand Springs High School from 1976-1977. He landed his first head coaching job at Tulsa Rogers High School in 1978.

After that, Butch began a successful 15-year association with Jimmy Johnson, first as a receivers and tight ends coach at Oklahoma State, then later as defensive line coach at the University of Miami. During that time, the Hurricanes won the 1987 National Championship.

[edit] First NFL Venture

Butch would follow Jimmy Johnson to Dallas where, as defensive coordinator and coach of the defensive line, he helped Johnson and new owner Jerry Jones create a back-to-back Super Bowl champion out of a Dallas Cowboys team that went 1-15 in 1989 (Johnson's first year as head coach). Davis would be promoted to Defensive Coordinator in 1993 after the departure of Dave Wannstedt. After J. Johnson left, Davis continued at Dallas for one more year as assistant coach under Barry Switzer.

[edit] Head Coach

Davis returned to college football when he got his first chance as a head coach. Back at the University of Miami, he helped turn around a program that was in disarray. Despite facing NCAA sanctions that eliminated 31 football scholarship spots over several years, he managed to post a 51-20 record during his tenure as head coach and by his last year, the Hurricanes finished 11-1 and #2 in the country. The University of Miami team went undefeated and won the national championship the year after Davis left under new coach, Larry Coker.

Returning to NFL football in 2001, Davis walked the sidelines as head coach of the Cleveland Browns. In 1999-2000 under head coach Chris Palmer the Browns, led by quarterback and 1999 number one draft pick Tim Couch, posted a 5-27 record. Davis led the team to a 7-9 record in his first year at the helm, missing the playoffs by a game. The Browns posted a 9-7 record and got a playoff berth in Davis's second year, getting in after winning two close games in a row against the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Atlanta Falcons. In 2003, a quarterback controversy erupted between Couch and backup Kelly Holcomb after Holcomb, starting the 2002 playoff game for the injured Couch, threw for 429 yards and three touchdowns. Davis would ultimately give the starting job to Holcomb, though Couch did start a few games. In the 2004 offseason, Davis signed Jeff Garcia and cut Couch. Davis resigned in early December 2004 after a 3-8 start and ended with a 24-35 overall record as coach of the Browns.

On November 13, 2006 Dick Baddour, the Athletic Director at the University of North Carolina, announced that Davis had been hired as the new head football coach at UNC. On November 27, 2006, he replaced John Bunting who was fired in October 2006 after posting only one winning season in six years as head coach of the Tar Heels.

[edit] Broadcaster

Davis also appears on NFL Playbook, an NFL Network program where he discusses the week's upcoming games with fellow panelists. Davis also has his own segment of the show in the NFL Playbook War Room where he breaks down key match-ups.

[edit] College coaching record

Season Team Regular Season Postseason Pct.
1995 University of Miami 8-3 n/a .727
1996 University of Miami 8-3 1-0 .750
1997 University of Miami 5-6 n/a .455
1998 University of Miami 8-3 1-0 .750
1999 University of Miami 8-4 1-0 .692
2000 University of Miami 10-1 1-0 .917
2007 University of North Carolina 0-0 0-0
6 Total 47-20 4-0 .718

[edit] NFL coaching record

Season Team Record Postseason Pct.
2001 Cleveland Browns 7-9
2002 Cleveland Browns 9-7 0-1
2003 Cleveland Browns 5-11
2004 Cleveland Browns 3-8
Total 4 24 35 .407
Preceded by:
John Bunting
University of North Carolina Head Football Coach
2007–Present
Succeeded by:
Current
Preceded by:
Chris Palmer
Cleveland Browns Head Coaches
2001-2004
Succeeded by:
Terry Robiskie
Preceded by:
Dennis Erickson
University of Miami Head Football Coach
19952000
Succeeded by:
Larry Coker