Butch Davis will not return as coach at FIU in 2022 after five seasons leading the Panthers, the legendary coach revealed to Action Network on Monday. Davis, whose contract expires on Dec. 15, is also spilling the beans on issues he believes have been plaguing the team -- going so far as to say that the administration is "sabotaging" the football program.
Davis claims that all of the shoulder pads available to players were 10 years old when he arrived as coach in 2017. As a result, the school received used shoulder pads from Mississippi State that were 5 years old at no cost. He also alleges the school did not allow the coaching staff to go out recruiting -- even after the COVID-19 pandemic -- due to school policy and financial restraints. If that wasn't enough, the school posted a job opening for the head football coaching position during this season.
"This year has been a nightmare," Davis told Brett McMurphy. "You can imagine the players' reaction when a head coach's job was posted online. The administration has been sabotaging the program. Their decisions to post the job has resulted in a major negative impact on the football program and our ability to recruit and retain players."
Davis has posted a 24-30 record during his tenure at FIU, which included 8-5 and 9-4 records during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. The program has tailed off since then, going 6-7, 0-5 and 1-9 over the past three seasons.
Davis led the Miami Hurricanes to a 51-20 record from 1995-2000, which included four bowl games and an 11-1 record in 2000 when it finished No. 2 in the AP Top 25. He also was instrumental in cleaning up a Miami program that had been left a shambles due to NCAA sanctions prior to his arrival.
