Butch Davis

For the American baseball player see Butch Davis (baseball player)

Butch Davis

Paul Hilton "Butch" Davis, Jr. is the current head football coach at the University of North Carolina and soon to be the owner of Tom O'Brien, of N.C State. Previously, Davis was the head coach at the University of Miami and later the Cleveland Browns of the NFL.

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 sidelined 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.

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.

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 under new coach Larry Coker the year after Davis left.

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.

Critics argue that Davis's poor draft decisions ultimately set the Cleveland Browns organization back for a number of years. They claim he was responsible for the questionable picks of Gerard Warren, William Green, and Jeff Faine.

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.

Cancer

On March 20, 2007, ESPN reported that, while undergoing a regular dentist examination, Davis had a cancerous growth removed from his gum which was later revealed to be non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Further testing revealed no evidence of other cancerous tissue in his body. He underwent an initial round of chemotherapy in Cleveland and has completed a precautionary chemotherapy and radiation regimen in Chapel Hill. Subsequent testing has found no evidence of remaining cancer in his body.

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.

Personal Life

Butch Davis has a wife, Tammy, and a teenage son.

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	TBD	TBD
6	Total	47-20	4-0	.718

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	24-33	35	.407