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UNC Coaching Candidates

Butch Davis is out as head coach at North Carolina
North Carolina Coaching Candidates

The man who cleaned up the dirty Miami program has been fired for making the clearn UNC program dirty. With Butch Davis being fired from the North Carolina Program the first high profile job in the South has opened. If the NCAA wasn't investigating UNC, then this would be a very good job. UNC is a wealthy athletic department that has seen national championships in multiple sports. The school has upgraded its football facilities under Butch Davis and the stadium is one of the nicest in the NCAA. Chapel Hill is one of America's best small cities to live in and the fan support is strong. This is a good job that will attract plenty of interest, but how much will the NCAA Investigation hurt the school.

Names like Mike Leach, Phil Fulmer, and Terry Bowden are certain to throw their names out there but don't expect UNC to hire any of these 3. Fulmer's age has caught up to him, Leach is likely to controversial to hire at this moment, and Bowden failed at Clemson. There will also be fans calling for Gruden, but the chances of that happening are about the same as me appearing on College Football Live tomorrow to discuss potential UNC candidates.

The list below are some early, realistic coaches to look at. Obviously none of these guys would take over until after the season is done as UNC will likely promote an assistant from within as interim head coach.

Charles Baggett(Assistant Head Coach Tennessee)- Baggett is 58 and has no head coaching experience, but is a North Carolina graduate. Baggett has spent many years in the NFL, mostly as a wide receiver coach for teams like the Rams, Packers, Dolphins, and Vikings. If the program is in deep trouble with the NCAA this could be the safe hire to go with someone who graduated from the school

Kevin Wilson(Head Coach Indiana)- Wilson is also a North Carolina grad and is in his first season with Indiana. Wilson was at Oklahoma for the last several seasons as the offensive coordinator and was a finalist for the Mississippi State job after Sly Croom was fired. This would be a good hire, but would Wilson really only coach Indiana for 1 year?

Gus Malzahn(Offensive Coordinator Auburn)- The hottest OC in the country is Malzahn. Last season Malzahn and Auburn won the NC. He has proven that his offenses can be tough on the ground by utilizing such running backs like Darren McFadden, Felix Jones, and Peyton Hillis and has proven his offenses can throw the ball with guys like Cam Newton. While at Tulsa, Malzahn's offense was the first in NCAA History to have a 5,000 yard passer, 1,000 yard rusher, and three 1,000 yard WRs. This would be a great hire, but would North Carolina hire a guy from a staff that is already under NCAA investigation.

Bud Foster(defensive coordinator Virginia Tech)- This would be my first call if I'm UNC. Butch Davis built his team around tough defense and few in college football can coach defensive talent better than Foster. He comes from a clean athletic program at Virginia Tech and is a multiple time Broyles Award Winner. Even if the Heels are facing NCAA probation, Foster would take the job as he's been looking to become a head coach at a program like this for several years.

Kirby Smart(defensive coordinator Alabama)- Smart is a 2008 Broyles Award Winner and would certainly work well with the defensive talent that Butch Davis has brought to Chapel Hill. The Nick Saban coaching tree has already found itself at Florida, Tennessee, and Florida State so why not take the 35 year old coach that's in Tuscaloosa right now?

Matt Barber
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