In a shocking bit of fate, Butch Davis, the man widely credited for getting the Miami Hurricanes house back in order after NCAA sanctions, has been fired for dragging the UNC Tar Heels into their own NCAA investigation quagmire. The news cycle being what it is, sports writers are already offering their two cents over who should replace Davis, and one familiar name keeps coming up: Randy Shannon.
This is of course based on nothing more than sports blogger conjecture, but the possibility seems to be on multiple scribes' minds.
"He knows the ACC, he's a good recruiter, and the timing would work well if an interim were hired this year because Shannon isn't coaching this season," writes ESPN's Heather Dinich.
"Shannon is taking the year off to work in television, but he wants to get back into coaching," echoes CBSSports' Tom Fornelli. "He has experience in the ACC and is very familiar with recruiting in the state of Florida thanks to his time at Miami."
Athlon Sports joins the chorus as well, though they also mention FIU's Mario Cristobal as a possible candidate.
Like Davis, Shannon was noted for tireless recruiting and injecting some discipline back into the Hurricanes. Unlike Davis, Shannon never saw much success on the field. Davis won three Big East championships. Shannon couldn't even get us into an ACC title game.
Oddly though, Davis himself still thinks Shannon makes a fine coaching candidate.
"[Shannon] will get back into coaching," Davis was quoted as saying just a day before his firing. "He won't be out long."
The two have a long friendship that goes back to their Miami days. In fact, Davis even invited Shannon to sit in on UNC practices over the spring.
Though, it looks like UNC may employ an interim head coach during this season, and wait until after the season ends to name their new head coach. We'll have to check back in in a few months to see if Shannon's name is still in the mix.
Follow Miami New Times on Facebook and Twitter @MiamiNewTimes.
