Butch Davis
Butch Davis went 103–75 on the field as a head coach, 1995–2021, at Miami, North Carolina and Florida International; 87–75 officially, after the NCAA vacated 16 wins (2008 and 2009). Share
- Record
- 87–75 official; 103–75 on the field
- Seasons
- 15
- Schools
- 3
- Final AP top 10
- 1 season
- Born
- Nov 17, 1951
- Alma mater
- Arkansas 1974
- Best season
- 2000 11–1, No. 2
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Miami | 8–3 | T–1st | 20 | ||
| 1996 | Miami | 9–3 | T–1st | Carquest Bowl W | 14 | |
| 1997 | Miami | 5–6 | T–5th | |||
| 1998 | Miami | 9–3 | T–2nd | MicronPC Bowl W | 20 | |
| 1999 | Miami | 9–4 | 2nd | Gator Bowl W | 15 | |
| 2000 | Miami | 11–1 | 1st | Sugar Bowl W | 2 | |
| 2001–06: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 2007 | North Carolina | 4–8 | 4th (Coastal) | |||
| 2008 | North Carolina | 8–5 (0–5 official) | T–3rd (Coastal) | Meineke Car Care Bowl L | ||
| 2009 | North Carolina | 8–5 (0–5 official) | 4th (Coastal) | Meineke Car Care Bowl L | ||
| 2010 | North Carolina | 8–5 | T–3rd (Coastal) | Music City Bowl W | ||
| 2011–16: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 2017 | Florida International | 8–5 | 2nd (East) | Gasparilla Bowl L | ||
| 2018 | Florida International | 9–4 | T–2nd (East) | Bahamas Bowl W | ||
| 2019 | Florida International | 6–7 | T–5th (East) | Camellia Bowl L | ||
| 2020 | Florida International | 0–5 | 6th (East) | |||
| 2021 | Florida International | 1–11 | 7th (East) | |||
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table.
Players he coached
Dan Morgan2000 Bronko Nagurski Trophy
Kentwan BalmerNo. 29 pick, 2008- Ray LewisNo. 26 pick, 1996
- Reggie WayneNo. 30 pick, 2001
- Damione LewisNo. 12 pick, 2001
- Bubba FranksNo. 14 pick, 2000
- Kenard LangNo. 17 pick, 1997
- Kenny HolmesNo. 18 pick, 1997
- Yatil GreenNo. 15 pick, 1997
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 38 | 16–22 | 42% |
| Against top-10 teams | 13 | 5–8 | 38% |
| Against rivals | 32 | 8–24 | 25% |
| Conference games | 109 | 62–47 | 57% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 10 | 6–4 | 60% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 68 | 36–32 | 53% |
| At home | 91 | 60–31 | 66% |
| On the road | 73 | 35–38 | 48% |
| At neutral sites | 14 | 8–6 | 57% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 102 | 77–25 | 75% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 76 | 26–50 | 34% |
His own 178 games on file, 1995–2021, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Beamer 1995–2010 | 2–8 | Virginia Tech | 10 | |
| Tom O’Brien 1997–2010 | 4–4 | Boston College, NC State | 8 | |
| Bobby Bowden 1995–2009 | 1–6 | Florida State | 7 | |
| Don Nehlen 1995–2000 | 5–1 | West Virginia | 6 | |
| Paul Pasqualoni 1995–2000 | 4–2 | Syracuse | 6 | |
| Terry Shea 1996–2000 | 5–0 | Rutgers | 5 | |
| Rick Stockstill 2017–2021 | 1–4 | Middle Tennessee | 5 | |
| Walt Harris 1997–2000 | 3–1 | Pittsburgh | 4 | |
| Randy Shannon 2007–2010 | 3–1 | Miami | 4 | |
| Ron Dickerson 1995–1997 | 3–0 | Temple | 3 |
Butch Davis’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Virginia Techseries | 10 | 2–8 |
| Boston Collegeseries | 8 | 8–0 |
| Rutgersseries | 8 | 8–0 |
| Florida Stateseries | 8 | 2–6 |
| Templeseries | 7 | 6–1 |
| Pittsburghseries | 7 | 5–2 |
| West Virginiaseries | 7 | 5–2 |
| Syracuseseries | 6 | 4–2 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Fayetteville HS (AR) high school | Defensive coordinator | |
| 1974–75 | Pawhuska HS (OK) high school | Defensive coordinator | |
| 1976–77 | Charles Page HS (OK) high school | Defensive coordinator | |
| 1978 | Will Rogers HS (OK) high school | Head coach | |
| 1979–83 | Oklahoma State | Tight ends and wide receivers coach | |
| 1984–88 | Miami (FL) | Defensive line coach | |
| 1989–92 | Dallas Cowboys NFL | Defensive line coach | |
| 1993–94 | Dallas Cowboys NFL | Defensive coordinator | |
| 1995–2000 | Miami (FL) | Head coach | |
| 2001–04 | Cleveland Browns NFL | Head coach | |
| 2007–10 | North Carolina | Head coach | |
| 2017–21 | FIU | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Jimmy JohnsonOklahoma State, Miami, Dallas Cowboys
- Barry SwitzerDallas Cowboys
Assistants who became head coaches
- Chuck PaganoIndianapolis Colts
- Larry CokerMiami, UTSA
- Randy ShannonMiami, Florida
- Rob ChudzinskiCleveland Browns
- Curtis JohnsonTulane, Houston Roughnecks / Gamblers
- Mario CristobalFlorida International, Oregon, Miami
- Greg SchianoRutgers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Bruce AriansTemple, Indianapolis Colts, Arizona Cardinals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Foge FazioPittsburgh
- Steve HagenWartburg
- Andre PattersonCal Poly
- Dave CampoDallas Cowboys
- and 10 more
Worked under (2)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jimmy Johnson | Oklahoma State | 1979–83 | Tight ends and wide receivers coach | |
| Jimmy Johnson | Miami | 1984–88 | Defensive line coach | |
| Jimmy Johnson | Dallas Cowboys NFL | 1989–93 | 1989–92: defensive line coach; 1993: defensive coordinator | |
| Barry Switzer | Dallas Cowboys NFL | 1994 | Defensive coordinator |
Coached under him, later head coaches (22)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chuck Pagano | Miami, 1995–2000: defensive backs and special teams coach; Cleveland Browns, 2001–04: defensive backs coach; North Carolina, 2007: defensive coordinator | Indianapolis Colts | |
| Larry Coker | Miami, 1995–2000: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Miami, UTSA | |
| Randy Shannon | Miami, 1995–97: linebackers coach | Miami, Florida | |
| Rob Chudzinski | Miami, 1995: graduate assistant; 1996–2000: tight ends coach; Cleveland Browns, 2004: tight ends coach | Cleveland Browns | |
| Curtis Johnson | Miami, 1996–2000: wide receivers coach | Tulane, Houston Roughnecks / Gamblers | |
| Mario Cristobal | Miami, 1998–2000: graduate assistant | Florida International, Oregon, Miami | |
| Greg Schiano | Miami, 1999–2000: defensive coordinator | Rutgers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers | |
| Bruce Arians | Cleveland Browns, 2001–03: offensive coordinator | Temple, Indianapolis Colts, Arizona Cardinals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers | |
| Foge Fazio | Cleveland Browns, 2001–02: defensive coordinator | Pittsburgh | |
| Steve Hagen | Cleveland Browns, 2001–03: tight ends coach; 2004: quarterbacks coach; North Carolina, 2007–08: tight ends coach | Wartburg | |
| Andre Patterson | Cleveland Browns, 2003–04: defensive line coach | Cal Poly | |
| Dave Campo | Cleveland Browns, 2003–04: defensive coordinator | Dallas Cowboys | |
| Fred Graves | Cleveland Browns, 2004: wide receivers coach | San Diego Chargers | |
| John Blake | North Carolina, 2007–10: defensive line coach | Oklahoma | |
| Sam Pittman | North Carolina, 2007–10: offensive line coach | Arkansas, Hutchinson | |
| Brad Davis | North Carolina, 2008: graduate assistant | LSU | |
| Everett Withers | North Carolina, 2008–10: defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach; Florida International, 2021: assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and safeties coach | North Carolina, Texas State, Temple, James Madison | |
| Brent Guy | Florida International, 2017–18: defensive coordinator | Utah State | |
| Rich Skrosky | Florida International, 2017–20: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Ramapo, Elon | |
| Thomas Sydeski | Florida International, 2018: offensive quality control coach | Mercyhurst | |
| Jerod Kruse | Florida International, 2019–20: co-defensive coordinator | William Jewell | |
| Andrew Breiner | Florida International, 2021: offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach | Fordham |
Other assistants under him (14)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Bill Miller | Miami, 1995–98: defensive coordinator | |
| Keith Butler | Cleveland Browns, 2001–02: linebackers coach | |
| Clancy Pendergast | Cleveland Browns, 2003: linebackers coach | |
| Kennedy Polamalu | Cleveland Browns, 2004: running backs coach | |
| Taver Johnson | Cleveland Browns, 2004: assistant special teams coach | |
| John Dunn | North Carolina, 2007: graduate assistant | |
| John Lovett | North Carolina, 2007–08: special teams coordinator | |
| John Shoop | North Carolina, 2007–10: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Tommy Thigpen | North Carolina, 2007–08: linebackers coach | |
| Art Kaufman | North Carolina, 2009–10: linebackers coach | |
| Josh Gattis | North Carolina, 2010: graduate assistant | |
| Tim Harris Jr. | Florida International, 2017–19: running backs coach; 2020: offensive coordinator and running backs coach | |
| Brandon Harris | Florida International, 2019: graduate assistant; 2021: cornerbacks coach | |
| Jeff Copp | Florida International, 2019–20: co-defensive coordinator |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.
Pay
| Year | School | Job | Contract pay | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Florida International | head coachbonuses up to $550,000; buyout $4,110,569 | $900,000 USA Today | |
| 2010 | North Carolina | head coachbonuses up to $105,000 | $1,752,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2009 | North Carolina | head coachbonuses up to $105,000 | $1,702,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2008 | North Carolina | head coach | $2,100,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2007 | North Carolina | head coachbonuses up to $95,333 | $1,910,000 USA Today via Leeds |
USA Today’s coaches salary database (2014–17, from public-records requests to the schools; Rachel Ehlers’ copy): the season’s contract pay, school pay plus outside money, before bonuses.
The same USA Today database for 2006–16, from Michael Leeds’ replication data on Harvard Dataverse (CC0): the season’s contract pay.
Pay of public employees in their public job only: head coaches, and assistants in the seasons our records name them a coordinator, at public universities.
How he coached
Davis’s teams went for it on 19% of fourth downs and on 37% of those where the model said go for it, passed on 49% of plays and took 26.5 seconds a play, 2007–2021.
| Season | School | Went for it on fourth | When the model said go | Pass rate | Seconds a play | EPA a play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 11 g | North Carolina | 18 of 91 20% | 30% | 53% | 24.6 | −0.17 | |
| 2008 13 g | North Carolina | 14 of 94 15% | 35% | 45% | 27.5 | −0.07 | |
| 2009 13 g | North Carolina | 15 of 104 14% | 33% | 47% | 31.7 | −0.12 | |
| 2010 13 g | North Carolina | 23 of 100 23% | 47% | 53% | 25.6 | 0.00 | |
| 2018 13 g | Florida International | 22 of 82 27% | 53% | 46% | 26.7 | +0.17 | |
| 2019 13 g | Florida International | 24 of 108 22% | 37% | 46% | 24.9 | +0.03 | |
| 2020 5 g | Florida International | 12 of 48 25% | 56% | 48% | 25.3 | −0.17 | |
| 2021 9 g | Florida International | 10 of 87 11% | 16% | 55% | 24.5 | −0.03 | |
| All 90 g | 138 of 714 19% | 37% | 49% | 26.5 | −0.03 |
His seasons as a head coach from 2004 on, from ESPN’s play by play: fourth downs where he went for it out of every fourth-down decision; how often he went when SportsDataverse’s fourth-down model said going for it was the better call; the share of his offense’s plays that were passes; seconds of game clock per offensive play (lower is faster); and expected points added per offensive play (EPA, a measure of how much each play moved the offense toward points). The season in progress counts its games so far. SportsDataverse’s coach tendencies, from ESPN’s play by play; the EPA and the fourth-down model are SportsDataverse’s.