Tampa Bay Bucs hire Butch Davis as special assistant

By ROY CUMMINGS | The Tampa Tribune 
Published: February 10, 2012» 10 Comments | Post a CommentTAMPA --

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Butch Davis have agreed to terms on a contract to make Davis a special assistant to new head coach Greg Schiano, according to Davis' agent.

The contract has not yet been signed, agent Trace Armstrong said Friday evening.

Davis, 60, has head coaching experience at the college and professional levels. He spent six seasons as head coach at the University of Miami, with Schiano served as his defensive coordinator for the final two seasons in 1999-2000.

Davis also coached the Cleveland Browns in the NFL and, most recently, the University of North Carolina.

He was fired by North Carolina in July during an NCAA investigation into claims of academic misconduct and unlawful player-agent relations.

Because Davis was fired without cause, he immediately became entitled to a $2.7 million buyout package that included a $933,500 payout for 2011 and supplemental payouts of $590,000 each year from 2013-15, UNC officials said at the time of Davis' firing.

"The University will owe Coach Davis an additional $590,000 each January 15, starting in 2013 and concluding in 2015,'' the University said in a statement released the day Davis was fired. "These amounts would be reduced by any compensation that Coach Davis might earn for coaching in a college or professional program. The maximum total that Coach Davis could receive is $2,703,500.''

It is unclear whether Davis' negotiations or role with the Bucs were impacted by the terms of his buyout with North Carolina.

As the Bucs' search for a staff of assistants moved into its third week on Friday, yet another name joined the mix.

According to an ESPN report, the Bucs plan to interview New York Giants quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan for the offensive coordinator position.

Sullivan, a former Army Ranger and Giants receivers coach, is known for using some unique teaching tools.

One such drill called for Giants quarterbacks to dodge to their left and right, then run away from a supposed defender and deliver the ball while off balance to better simulate a game situation.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning bounced back from a 25-interpcetion season in 2010 to throw for a franchise record 4,933 yards and win the Super Bowl this season, he said, because of drills such as that.

A receivers coach with the Giants for six years, Sullivan took over as the quarterbacks coach in 2010, and Manning's 25-interpcetion season was blamed in part on Sullivan's lack of experience with the position. Sullivan too often approached the job from the receivers standpoint, Manning said, but the two worked out their differences early in the offseason.

Bucs officials would neither confirm nor deny the Sullivan report.

Sullivan is at least the third person the Bucs reached out to for the offensive coordinator position, according to various reports. Tampa Bay sought but was denied permission to speak to Arizona Cardinals receivers coach John McNulty and Green Bay Packers tight ends coach Ben McAdoo, each of whom was later promoted to quarterbacks coach by his team.