Miami Hurricanes: Who Would Replace Al Golden Next Year if He Gets Fired?

2 Sep 1995: Head coach Butch Davis of the Miami Hurricanes watches from the sideline as he looks on during a play in the Hurricanes 31-8 loss to the UCLA Bruins at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

Butch Davis

I think Butch Davis is the fan favorite pick. Especially, that Butch Davis has made it no secret that he would be “interested” in the head coaching position at Miami if it were to come available and the conditions were right.

Probably having the greatest eye for talent, Davis recruited arguably the best college team (and NFL All-Star Team) in the history of college football … those early-2000 Hurricanes’ teams. Players that were recruiting products of Davis were: Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Clinton Portis, Edgerrin James, Willis McGahee, Reggie Wayne, Santana Moss, Andre Johnson, Jeremy Shockey, Jonathan Vilma, Sean Taylor and the list goes on and on.

If you can remember, Davis coached Miami from 1995-2000, after he developed his coaching craft under Jimmy Johnson. He left Miami to head coach the Cleveland Browns. And after Cleveland, he returned to college football as North Carolina’s head coach. Though they too had scandals at UNC and were consistently going .500 in ACC conference games, Davis was still developing NFL caliber talent.

I feel Davis would also make a great fit at Miami, but he would still need about 4 to 5 years as Miami’s head coach before truly showcasing a championship team.

Next: Charlie Strong