UPDATE #2: Butch Davis has released a statement. Obviously he was surprised.
UPDATE: All indications are that Chancellor Holden Thorp pulled the trigger and was not pressured by the BOT. However the BOT turnover is important since it is clear Thorp possibly wanted to go there before now but did not have BOT support to do it. With the changeover I am guessing he had it. Add to that the Michael McAdoo plagiarism snafu and I guess Thorp was ready to pull the trigger.
UNC has a press conference scheduled for 11 AM on Thursday to explain all this. It should be the most interesting press conference to happen at UNC since the infamous three headed presser from last August.
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According to multiple sources UNC has fired head football coach Butch Davis.
Inside Carolina initially broke the story saying that UNC officials refused to confirm or deny Davis was still the head coach following a meeting between chancellor Holden Thorp and the UNC Board of Trustees. A not so insignificant factor in this is the fact a new BOT took over today and without noted Davis supporter Bob Winston who rotated off with the expiration of his term.
Obviously there will be questions about the timing, what new information came to light and who knows what else. I don’t think I would be understating it when I say I am not sure this could get any stranger.
More on this as UNC officially confirms the news.
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what a cluster. why wait until now you freaking morons.
They don’t even know how to fire someone in Chapel Hill. Can it get any worse?
a kinda-sorta logical conclusion to this train-wreck.
UGH. 5 weeks til the first game! stadium construction.
as we’re all just starting to feel good about the coming season.
who will step in? Shoop??
obviously, the BOT change is the major MAJOR factor here, but they couldnt wait 5 months? this is really the best move at this time? hm.
What is the point of waiting till now. The school has been so supportive. Why change up now. Davis was taking us up
Let the speculation begin. Who is going to be the new coach. Nobody wants the job with the investigation. It wasn’t like he was pulling a tressell
I can’t think of a more perfect ending to this charade (eye roll).
I do find it interesting that the article linked above goes through painful detail on the business qualifications of the BOT members. I wonder how these great financial success stories got so knowledgeable in football operations? Does the business model translate?
I can’t defend Butch b/c he deserved to be fired over all of this crap but speculation leads to three possibilities: (1) the new BoT is really really worried about the NCAA and wanted to make Butch the sacrificial lamb; (2) the new BoT really really wanted to fire Butch regardless and could only get the opportunity now; or (3) the BoT is dumb. Maybe it is all three. Whatever the reason, this is so bizarre.
Well great. Tick alive and well.
(Long time reader, first time commenting.)
I’m inclined to agree with possibilities #1 and #2 in chapelhillfan’s post - firing Butch might have been in an attempt to mitigate any future NCAA penalties. The new BoT leadership is like the new wife, getting rid of the old wife’s decor in the house.
Dickie also needs to be fired. ASAP.
Really?
The Carolina way is one way but this way has been nothing but-
SDF
If recruiting was not up to par this year… Just wait-
You don’t have to be a BD fan to still recognize this exercise was lacking in so many ways…
SMH
Again
SMH
^^^I agree. Dickie and Thorp should both be out. They backed Davis to the hilt when firing him might have lessened the PR hit, now dump him at the worst possible time. Frankly I as a fan and supporter of UNC football feel hung out to dry, because I strongly defended our keeping him based on the fact that I figured those two bozos knew better than I did what happened and they were comfortable retaining the coach. Amateur hour from beginning to end.
It’s about damn time. Now, fire Dickie ASAP. Go Heels!!!
What do you say to recruits who no doubt were assured (weren’t we all) that the administration backed Davis “100%” and he would be the head coach this season. Fire him last January or in December. But to do it now because suddenly the weight of the PR (which was finally starting to die down and shift to talk about football) became too much? Really? This complete 180 with no real justification? Thorp and Baddour should fall on their swords next. Baddour especially. How many football disasters is this now on “his watch”?
Art Chansky — WINNING!
I am hoping that some new evidence came to light (e.g., 216 records) and that Davis “knew” after all. But, it’s probably just new leadership in the BoT and/or they found enough Ram’s Club money to do today what should have happened last December. And man, doesn’t this make Baddour and Thorp look like a couple of amateurs.
So, the Doherty era killed the idea of the “Carolina Family” and the Davis era puts the lie to the “Carolina Way.” Can we all be adults now and just be ‘Heels fans knowing full well that money and power are stronger than myths?
The players are shocked and angry. Twitter is ugly. Everyone thinks (with some justification IMO) the administration screwed them from day one and doesn’t give a crap about them. Carolina football is now officially a smoking crater. What coach would want to come into this situation? As for money and power being stronger than myths, that’s what baffles me. My impression was that most of the money and power wanted to keep Butch, and that he’s now being sacrificed to service a myth that’s already died.
I am not surprised about firing. I actually thought it would have happened last season. I find it very hard to believe that Davis did not know what was going on and unfortunately when things happen it all comes down on the coach.
IMO I think you need to clean house TOTALLY.
I tried to tell you guys last year that Davis had to go. Baddour and Thorp should follow him out the door. I know this is hard. That’s what happens when you don’t do the right thing to begin with. Let’s take our medicine and move on. Trustees go find former alumni who understands what the TARHEEL way is. This will pass and all will survive. Go TARHEELS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That’s my point, yawper. Now it looks like most of M&P want Davis gone. There is no “Carolina Way” (anymore?), just politics.
And let’s not declare that the sky is falling until after 10/28/2011, and/or an sub-.500 season. Though I will agree with you that the players have good reason to wonder if anybody gives a crap about them.
I learned about this from a Clemson alum colleague who texted me. He wrote: “Butch (cheater) Davis gets the axe!!!”
Despite being in agreement with this dismissal, I wish that UNC could have cleaned house in any number of ways other than this.
This is the second time this year that I’ve heard bad news about my school from someone who hates us (the other was when my Virgina fan colleague broke the news about Larry Drew II).
The Carolina Way makes sure that these instances happen rarely, if ever.
Ladies and gentlemen i believe a large and sarcastic thank you should go out to Marvin Austin. Just a question. Didnt Austin and Greg Little commit while bunting was still coach?
Any way Withers, Thorp, and Baddour can go in a packaged deal?
Is Sam Pittman the interim coach, or are we looking at the beginning of the John Shoop era at UNC?
Look, if you were going to fire Butch, it should have been done last season. Not only are the players having to think about what happens when the punishment is handed down, but now this? Who are these clowns making the decision anyway?
I’ve said Butch’s underachievements should have been the reason for his firing, but you fired him five weeks before the season when you showed support for him for the seven months after the prior season ended?
This kills any chance of UNC getting another big name coach here. Do you really think a good head coach is going to want to come here now? Those no talent clowns (Thorp and Baddour) have just turned UNC football back into the days of Bunting and Torbush. Terrible!
And, BTW, if UNC did this to save face from the coming punishments, would this do any good if Butch wasn’t named in the LOA?
I believe,I have to believe, that either Pittman, Shoop or Withers will be the interim this year. I can’t,believe, I truly can’t believe, anyone with a pay-grade higher than the AD will allow DB one more chance to screw the UNC pooch one more time.
We don’t know the details. Maybe something new came to light. Maybe BD suddenly became evasive during some aspect of the investigation (phone records?). Maybe the new BoT had signaled their support to Thorpe on something he wanted to do 6 months ago. Maybe a combination of some or all of those.
I’m just glad he’s gone. I have nothing against him personally, but if these things are happening in your program and you don’t know, then you don’t deserve to be CEO.
Finally, the NCAA seems to be shifting its guns to coaches and away from the programs per se. If the players walk out of this without a bowl ban or scholarship losses, then Twitter will clean up soon enough. And frankly, I expect the players to be disappointed — when did a player ever tweet, “Well, some of my buds acted like boneheads, and now everyone gets to pay the price?” It’s always S.E.F..
This ship was headed for this rock the moment BD hired JB. Anyone who followed CFB knew it. My Texas and Oklahoma friends killed me over the hire way back when. Everyone seemed to know but DB and BD.
this firing was handled worse than Stewart’s at WVU… maybe he’d like to coach here?
Wondering what it would take to get rid of Dick Baddour.
Pathetic! I hate to say it, but Tarheel football is going back to the days of getting spanked by Miami of Ohio, etc. State already owns us, and it may be years before we beat them again.
Twitter is abuzz with reports of disgruntled players already thinking about transferring. This will take years to fix. I hate to think of going back to the Torbush and Bunting days when the Tarheels went 44-63 over 9 years. That was awful football. Sad, sad, sad!
I’ll take 44-63 and a sterling reputation over 28-23 and a permanent stain on UNC’s reputation.
Barnhart’s column today perfectly hits the mark (CBSsports.com).
For Thorp to resign would be to say that the football program, and what happens to the football program, run the University. Since they don’t, I see no compelling reason for Thorp to go.
Now if we continue to slide downhill in the USN&WR academic rankings, that’s a different matter.
“I lost confidence in our ability to come through this without harming the way people think of this institution.”
WHAT??!!!
If Thorpe thinks that firing the coach he vigorously defended for months during this scandal is going to result in UNC suddenly regaining credibility, then Thorpe is just as stupid as Dick Baddour.
The way this thing has been handled is an utter disaster. If firing was determined as the proper course of action, it should have happened MONTHS ago. Particularly, it should have happened before Thorpe and Baddour went to the BOT in front of a hundred video cameras to tell the world how great Coach Davis is. Quite simply, Thorpe’s statement is without credibility.
Either something new splooged out of the continued investigation, or Thorpe was given an ultimatum by the BOT. This whole thing stinks to high heaven.
Agreed be all. Unless there is something new- which I highly doubted -then this is simply shameful.
Chaucer1350, do you remember how really bad the Torbush/Bunting years were? Bad football, empty stadiums, and an NFL all-star running back (Willie Parker) who left Bunting’s program because of bad coaching and lack of playing time…and he never mentioned UNC during NFL pre-game introductions (only mentioned his high school team). Is it hoops season yet?
I survived Dick Crum’s last 2 years and Mack Brown’s first 2 years at UNC.
“Up the middle, up the middle, up the middle, punt” followed by, “Well, at least he goes for it on 4th down sometimes and yells at the refs.”
There’s a reason UNC basketball can go just about anywhere in the country and get a kid. It’s basically the same reason Alabama and Florida can come into this state and pick up the best football players. It’s the same reason Mack’s best team lost a bid to the Fiesta to a 9-2 KSU team — fan support (ticket guarantees).
I would love for UNC to win more football games. But before this scandal broke, I watched UNC fans boo the team off the field at half-time against Virginia two years ago — a classic Butch-ball effort. Talented players in the wrong position. Utterly predictable play-calling. Route trees with 3 guys within 15 yards of each other. 3rd and 9 passes to guys running back towards the line of scrimmage - 6 yards on the wrong side of the sticks.
I could make a compelling argument that Butch should be gone based SOLELY on the football side of things. Add this other stuff to the mix, and it’s a no-brainer for me.
Face it — firing Butch now might mean 2 less wins this year. I agree it should have been done sooner, but UNC now has clear legal ground on cause (notice of major allegations) and process (consult with BoT). UNC was going to have move on at some point. Better now than later.
what chaucer said…