So long, Butch

The UNC Tarheels took the final step in a saga that, quite frankly, should have ended months ago, terminating Butch Davis' contract as the head football coach in Chapel Hill. The program was under fire for a slew of scandals, ranging from monetary links between a former associate head coach and an agent, to violations of academic integrity aided by a former personal employee of Davis, to an extravagant parking ticket payoff, and finally took the steps to redeem itself. While the firing's timing is rather suspect, the season starts in only a few months, this hopefully signals the start of a new era of transparency in college football. To his credit, Davis accepted full responsibility for all the transgressions, unlike his counterpart, Jim Tressel, whose "I wasn't aware" defense, didn't save his job.

Curiously, this turn in regulation can be traced back almost exclusively to Reggie Bush-gate. Think about it. Before the whole mess with Bush relating to agent payments, which ultimately ended up retroactively costing Bush the Heisman, USC their National Championship, and Pete Carroll his job if he hadn't run away moved on to the NFL, how much was anybody really paying attention to the seedy underside of college football? USC wasn't the first team to violate NCAA rules, but it was the first marquee program to come under that much scrutiny since, I would argue, the infamous Death Penalty case which virtually destroyed SMU's once mighty program. In a larger sense, I hope this also serves as a wake up call for coaches in all sports who engage in, aid, or otherwise turn a blind eye to violations of the rules. For too long, head football and basketball coaches were the real power brokers on campus. When Ohio State's E. Gordon Gee proclaimed a few months prior to terminating Tressel that he hoped the coach "[wouldn't] fire [him]," it was an accurate portrayal of exactly how untouchable coaches thought they were. What most athletic departments, coaches, and staff are slowly starting to realize is that a fan's ultimate allegiance is due to their affection for the name on the front of the jersey, not on the back, or the one attached to it. I support Randy Edsall and Danny O'Brien because they represent the University of Maryland; I don't support the University of Maryland because of Randy Edsall or Danny O'Brien. Similarly, fans in Columbus, Chapel Hill, or LA support the programs because of their love for the universities, not because they are in love with the players or coaches. They may root for them, they may love them while they are wearing the university colors but it only lasts for so long. Are fans in Austin still in Will Muschamp's corner? Probably not. Nick Saban may have a statue of himself in Tuscaloosa, but when the next great Alabama coach comes along, nobody will be actively pining for him. Allowing players and coaches free reign tarnished the reputation of the universities that a lot of people invested vast amounts of time, money, and energy to build.

So what now? Unlike Tressel, I don't think Davis is untouchable. Tressel's toughest hurdle to overcome is the fact he actively lied to investigators about his involvement in the various transgressions in the program; Davis, as noted, fully cooperated with, and accepted responsibility for things that happened under his watch. He's one heck of a recruiter who revitalized Miami's program, and was on the verge of transforming UNC into a powerhouse before various scandals sunk the program. It may be a few years before he's considered for a head coaching job, and I wouldn't put a stint as a coordinator in the NFL out of the question, but there's no doubt Davis will coach a major D-I program again. UNC's situation is a little different. Firing Davis this late into the spring leaves them with no chance of signing a marquee head coach before the season, meaning they will most likely promote in house on an interim basis. After the season, which is now in even more jeopardy than it previously was, UNC has a few recruiting classes which make it a very attractive job for the right candidate who can further the haul of top recruits Davis was starting to attract.

Here's my way too early list of coaches who could end up with the Heels:

Bud Foster: VATech fans are going to hate me for putting his name on the list, but he won't stay in Blacksburg forever (unless Beamer retires any time soon). How the Hokies have kept him on the staff this long is a mystery as they consistently field one of the best defenses in the country. This move makes a lot of sense for both UNC and Foster. UNC's stated goal under Butch Davis was challenging Tech's ACC supremacy (which they never quite achieved), and if Foster stays, he'll be in a familiar conference, with equally familiar recruiting territory. Furthermore, Foster is the epitome of straight-edge and would be exactly the kind of image rebuilder that Chapel Hill needs.

Mark Richt: This could very well be Richt's last season in Athens if the Dawgs underperform yet again. He's an attractive choice due to his experience recruiting the fertile southern area and could benefit from moving to an easier conference.

Houston Nutt: The luster has faded somewhat from Nutt. He's struggled to put together a team like he had with Darren McFadden and Felix Jones. That being said, the lackluster Ole Miss program has improved in certain areas, and UNC has a good base of talent that could very easily fit into Nutt's run-heavy system.

Greg Schiano: Much like Nutt, Schiano has some work to do if he wants to avoid dropping off the map. Just a few seasons ago, Schiano was the hottest name on the coaching block, but his past few campaigns in Rutgers have cast some doubt on his viability, going 13-12 overall and just 4-10 in conference.

My Bizzaro World coaching options (these could happen and make me look like a genius, but I'm not going to hold my breath.)

Ralph Friedgen or Bobby Bowden: Hear me out. Both of these guys were unceremoniously dumped by their respective programs. One (Fridge) had turned his program from an afterthought into a fairly competitive team and was coming off one of his best seasons ever. The other (Bowden) was Florida State football for the better part of three decades and the second winningest coach in college football history. While both of them are fairly up there in age, if Joe Paterno can still be "coaching" with one foot in a retirement home, if these guys really wanted to stick it to their old programs, UNC would give them a great opportunity to do so.

Rick Neuheisel: By all accounts, he massively underestimated exactly how large of a rebuilding program UCLA was and unless he beats USC in a down year, he's out of a job. A hallmark of UCLA's teams the past few years is that they have been really good at pretty much no singular facet of the game and mediocre at everything. I think UNC has too much talent to have a coach who might waste it, but college football coaches have a peculiar knack for holding on and finding jobs they probably don't deserve, so who knows.