CHAPEL HILL, NC – OCTOBER 06: Head coach Butch Davis of the North Carolina Tar Heels celebrates toward the student section after the Tar Heels 33-27 win over the Miami Hurricanes at Kenan Stadium on October 6, 2007 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
NCAABy Sean Keeley on

Butch Davis is taking his talents back to Florida.

The one-time head coach of the Miami Hurricanes and Cleveland Browns has reportedly accepted the position of head coach with Florida International University and will be introduced on Tuesday.

Davis leaves his cushy gig with ESPN as a college football analyst for the new job. He had been working for ESPN since 2014.

After going bowling in 2010 and 2011, the program faltered under head coach Mario Cristobal, who was fired in 2013. Head coach Ron Turner was unable to turn the program around sufficiently and was fired in September. Defensive coordinator Ron Cooper has run the team this season to a 3-7 record with two games remaining.

Davis brings serious bonafides with him to FIU. He went 51-20 at Miami between 1995 and 2000 and it has long been said that he put the pieces into place for Miami’s 2001 national championship. Despite denying that he would leave, Davis left UM for the Cleveland Browns.

The Browns underperformed (because they’re the Browns) and he was fired midway through his fourth season. Butch returned to coaching in 2007 at North Carolina where he went 28-23 in four seasons but he was fired while the program was under NCAA investigation.

Davis and FIU executive director of sports and entertainment Pete Garcia have a history. They worked together both at Miami and in Cleveland. Davis also acted as a consultant when the school hired Ron Turner in 2013.

Interesting side note, FIU and Miami are scheduled to play one another in 2018 and 2019, so presumably Davis will have a chance to go head-to-head with the place where he made his name once more.

[ESPN]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

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