Tar Heels Step Into Tar Hell

by srr50 on Jul 27, 2011 10:06 PM CDT in Texas Longhorns and Other Football

After spending a year mired in scandals, and giving Coach Butch Davis several votes of confidence, the North Carolina Tar Heels, in an astonishing example of horrid timing, finally fired Davis.

The North Carolina football program has been a mess for almost a year, from various academic scandals to payoffs involving agents.

Former UNC tutor Jennifer Wiley -- at one time privately employed by Davis to tutor his son -- was linked to allegations of academic fraud.

John "Black Santa" Blake, a close friend of Davis and the UNC recruiting coordinator, reportedly had received more than $31,000 for steering players to the late Gary Wichard, an NFL agent.

Still Davis survived.

Butch Davis was at ACC Media Days earlier this week -- and out of a job less than 48 hours later.

The timing of the move could hardly be worse for the Tar Heel football program. With practice beginning in eight days, there seems to be no choice now but to hire an interim head coach for the entire season, and if it comes from the current staff there is no chance that it will be for more than the 2011 season. You have to assume that UNC will clean house.

For the second year in a row Tar Heel football players (many of whom were not involved in the allegations) must get ready for a season filled with uncertainty. By making the move so late in the summer, the UNC Administration gives the players precious little time to adjust to the new situation, and there will no doubt be players who deeply resent the firing of Davis, and the tenuous situation it creates.

As to why now, there are a couple of theories: Davis is set to release his personal cell phone records and there is speculation (denied by UNC sources) that they could connect him to some of the NCAA violations. Carolina March wonders if Michael McAdoo's plagiarism forced UNC to fire Butch Davis.

There is a new Chairman of the Board of Trustees at North Carolina and he may have put pressure on Chancellor Holden Thorp and Athletics Director Dick Baddour to start the clean up now.

Perhaps UNC looked at the NCAA suddenly becoming willing to go after high profile programs, and that Ohio State let Jim Tressel go out the door and Tennessee got rid of Bruce Pearl -- both after being called before the NCAA infractions committee -- and decided to make the same move.

In that case:

Oregon and Chip Kelly are now officially on the clock.

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I’m a full day’s drive from Eugene, but I think I can hear the clock from here. Tick, tock

While I find it hard to believe that tOSU seems likely to avoid major penalties (Just think how the entire athletics department had to look the other way to avoid seeing all the new cars) there may be something good come out of all this. If head coaches keep getting canned for violating the rules, maybe most of them will actually start obeying those rules.

Wait, that is way too optimistic. Still, this is fun to watch.

by Longhorn in Canada on Jul 27, 2011 10:22 PM CDT reply actions

Can we go back and do some fact finding on Big Red Auto, or whatever the name of that car dealership was?

by Edsp on Jul 27, 2011 10:57 PM CDT reply actions

Is there anyone in college football or basketball who isn’t dirty? Plausible deniability and insulation by assistant coaches notwithstanding? How many of these kids should have graduated from high school much less been enrolled in college? Maybe it’s same as it ever was and The Magic of the Internet just makes the bad news more immediate and accessible, but . . . ugh.

by Juice on Jul 27, 2011 11:52 PM CDT reply actions

by Drew Dunlevie on Jul 28, 2011 12:12 AM CDT reply actions

When you hire John Blake as your recruiting coordinator, you’re making a statement about what you’re about. For Butch Davis to play the innocent is absurd.

by Scipio Tex on Jul 28, 2011 12:47 AM CDT reply actions

Scip, better watch out or Blake may call you a racist. I heard he used that card when he was a Cowboy coach. Any school that hires Trooper Taylor or Ed Orgeron says everything you want to know about them as far as recruiting goes. They’re taking the gloves off and going at it full steam. These usually end up in a trail of destruction so the schadenfraud is strong. Oregon/Chip have a lot to learn about keeping things under the table, otherwise they would have paid Lyles in cash. See Andy Staples rules for rogue programs. I read where Keith Richards told Amy Winehouse to take it easy on the drugs & booze. She of course told him to fuck off, but if Keith is telling you to slow down – you might need to stop and relfect a bit. The new win at all cost schools might need to reflect a bit as well, or just fire the coach and move on.

by Kilgore Trout on Jul 28, 2011 7:37 AM CDT reply actions

“Is there anyone in college football or basketball who isn’t dirty?”

Mack Brown. Joe Paterno. Frank Beamer.

by Lowsmoke on Jul 28, 2011 8:54 AM CDT reply actions

This is gonna be real juicy. You don’t can the HC at this point unless there’s some real serious shit about to be dumped.

UNC knows that it won’t receive favorable treatment like tOSU, which was cleared by the NCAA of failing to monitor its FB program (http://content.usatoday.com/communities/campusrivalry/post/2011/07/ohio-state-jim-tressel-ncaa-violations-december-january/1), or the SEC.

by Joetx on Jul 28, 2011 9:54 AM CDT reply actions

If this was a preemptive move by UNC to take the tOSU model and place the pressure on the NCAA, then things just got really interesting. All the situations are different, but can/will the NCAA not punish 1 school because they fired their coach, but let another one off the hook?

The Trojans are watching intently.

by Matt Cotcher on Jul 28, 2011 10:40 AM CDT reply actions

The AD is now gone too.

Surely tOSU is still going to lose some scholarships, a year or two bowl ban, and maybe even have to get rid of their AD, right?

by ut-06 on Jul 28, 2011 12:20 PM CDT reply actions

They should bring the Pirate up from the Keys. The Carolina job was one of two he specifically mentioned he would want to take. Say what you will about his antics, I don’t remember anyone saying he was dirty.

by holdem on Jul 28, 2011 2:14 PM CDT reply actions