Report: UNC Buyout Holding Up Butch Davis To FIU
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The rumor mill continues to spin around the possibility that former University of Miami head coach Butch Davis will take over as head coach of Florida International University's football team.
Florida International is the only Football Bowl Subdivision school that has yet to hire a head coach. FIU needs a new coach after the surprising firing of former coach Mario Cristobal.
FIU athletic director Pete Garcia recently vehemently denied a report from the Miami Herald that Davis was indeed going to take over the program. Now, a new report from FoxSports.com's Alex Marvez fills in the details about what exactly is going on between the two parties.
According to Marvez, the only thing keeping Davis from taking the FIU job is a contract issue with his previous employer, the University of North Carolina. Davis is owed almost $1.8 million by UNC and the school doesn't want to pay if Davis takes over at FIU.
If the contract dispute can be worked out, FIU will pay him $500,000 a season to be the team's head coach, according to the FoxSports.com report. For comparison sake, Cristobal had a base salary of less than that, but had performance bonuses that if all were hit would have totaled more than $100,000.
Davis and Garcia have a lengthy relationship dating back to the Cleveland Browns and University of Miami. Garcia hopes Davis can replicate the rebuilding project he successfully carried out at UM at FIU.
Davis, if hired, will take over an FIU that is in infinitely better shape than when Cristobal took over. FIU will be headed to Conference USA last year and is just one year removed from two straight bowl berths. Known for his recruiting, Davis will have plenty of work ahead of him at FIU if he is to make them relevant in Florida.
