Steve Kim: Remembering Butch

Published Oct 3, 2007

Remembering Butch

This Saturday the University of Miami will run into an old friend in Chapel Hill when they face the North Carolina Tar Heels and one Paul Hilton Davis, a.k.a. 'Butch', who helped rebuild the UM program from the probation era to the brink of a national title from 1995 to 2000.

When I think of Davis I have mixed feelings. I remember when he was hired to clean up the mess left by Dennis Erickson I felt he was just the right guy for the job. He had a Super Bowl pedigree coming from the Dallas Cowboys, was known as a strong recruiter from his days at UM and was a disciple of Jimmy Johnson.

Within a few years he had re-stocked the cupboard. Talents such as Nate Webster, Edgerrin James, Bubba Franks, Santana Moss, Reggie Wayne, Bryant McKinnie, Ed Reed, Mike Rumph, Damione Lewis, Jeremy Shockey, DJ Williams, Andre Johnson and Jon Vilma were just some of the standouts brought in during Davis' tenure. He re-established the South Florida ties that were broken under the previous regime and he was able to attract talent from across the country.

He did this while hampered by the loss of over 30 scholarships, during the salad days of the FSU dynasty, and with Steve Spurrier winning SEC titles with regularity in Gainesville. While compiling a mark of 51-20 over his six seasons in Coral Gables, he had assembled a program ready to compete back at the national level.

There's no denying his impact. Yes, he could be self-serving, he was over-bearing and meddlesome with his assistants, his numerous off-season flirtations with other programs grew tiresome and his game day blunders were mind-boggling but the guy did the job he was brought in to do - bring Miami back to being a national championship-caliber program.

On January 2nd, 2001, the Canes downed the hated Gators by a score of 37-20 and finished number two in the country. Miami, who was bringing back a loaded squad, would be the odds on favorite to win it all the next season.

But Davis would never get a chance to coach the team he had recruited. The 2001 Sugar Bowl would be his
last game as he suddenly bolted for Cleveland. This after denying up and down to anyone who asked, that UM was where he wanted to be for the duration of his coaching career. And worst of all, just a week or two before national signing day, he would take off.

I have to admit, for a long while it clouded my judgments of Davis. He left the program in a bind, he
lied to everyone, and there seemed to be a sense of unfinished business to his departure. The previous
three coaches (Howard Schnellenberger, Johnson and Erickson) all left Miami for seemingly greener
pastures after winning it all.

They say time heals all wounds. My feelings on Davis have softened. I can appreciate what he brought to the program. But I can still laugh at all his sideline foibles and yes, I relished in his downfall in the NFL. To me, he got what he deserved. He should've stayed at Miami and won national titles and continued
to develop what he oversaw.

Miami would win a national title but get stuck with an incompetent coach. Butch would get his big payday but found out that the NFL means Not For Long when you're not playing Rutgers and Temple on a regular basis.

Nobody really won in this divorce.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

- Hey, anyone else getting sick of all these noon starts? It's even worse if you're like me and live on the west coast ( Los Angeles ). This Saturday, not only do I have to wake up early, but since I'll be in Las Vegas
covering the Pacquiao-Barrera bout, most likely I'll be battling a hangover at the same time as I stumble
over to the Mandalay Bay sports book to watch the game on ESPN2.

What happens in Vegas, lingers in Vegas.

- OK, let me get this straight, in the age of ESPN GamePlan, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN U, ESPN Classic, ESPN360, ESPN Ocho (OK, not really, but it will soon become a reality) and all these other sports networks, you're telling me that Miami fans across the country had no chance of viewing the Duke game, at all? In fact, the replay, which I'm told is on Comcast Sports South, isn't the most readily available network, either.

- Is it just me or does this athletic department, led by the departing (Thank God) Paul Dee cut some of the
worst deals imaginable? Let's hope the incoming AD has a grander vision of marketing this program than his predecessor.

This isn't 1987 anymore, a program with the tradition and reputation of UM - even during a down year - should have its games televised somewhere. Gator and Nole fans never seem to have this problem. For them, if there's a will, there's a way. UM fans don't even get that option sometimes.

- Kyle Wright must kick puppies in front of large public gatherings. Seriously, how else can you explain the fact that he is still the target of derision after his last two performances against Texas A&M and Duke? No, he may not be a great college quarterback, but after the quarterbacking Miami got the first two games, you'd think there would be some appreciation for what he brings UM.

- There's been a lot of discussion of the sitting of Sam Shields and Ryan Hill for this past weekend's game.
Some say Coach Randy Shannon is going overboard. I say he's setting the tone and changing the culture of a program that had become a country club and an NFL internship, but had stopped being a college program. In my not-so-humble opinion, it says a lot about what was going on not too long ago that guys like Shields
and Hill believed they could get away with certain transgressions. It's obvious they could at one point.

And that's why the Hurricanes finished 7-6 last year with more first round picks (3) than Wake Forest had players drafted, overall.

- DeSean Jackson of Cal is what the over-hyped Ted Ginn was supposed to be at Ohio State.

- It's official, the Big East is overrated.

- Yes, as of now, USF is the best team in the Sunshine State.

- Auburn, led by linebacker Quinton Groves, was the first defense I've seen really hit Florida's Tim Tebow over and over again.

- I would give some thoughts on the Duke game but I had no way of seeing it.

- I still think 'Botchilism' is my all-time best moniker.

Steve Kim is a frequent contributor on CanesOverHere.com and runs his own website, Maxboxing.com. He can be reached at k9kim@yahoo.com

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