Davis, Shannon to reunite in Miami, now as rivals

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) -- North Carolina coach Butch Davis left Miami eight years ago, prepared his Tar Heels so well that they beat the Hurricanes last season, and has only been on the sidelines at Dolphin Stadium once before.

As such, he insists Saturday's matchup between Atlantic Coast Conference foes won't seem like much of a homecoming.

"I could see it, going back down to Miami, if this had been the first game," Davis said. "But we played them last year. So now, it's just another game in the conference."

Mm-hmm. Right.

From the way he helped lead Miami through scholarship losses and other NCAA sanctions levied over infractions committed before he became the head coach, to his 51-20 record and lofty national rankings in Coral Gables, even to the abrupt -- and many still say less-than-totally-honest -- way that he resigned for a shot at coaching the Cleveland Browns, Davis left an indelible mark on Hurricanes' history.

And deep down, when Miami coach Randy Shannon -- who was on Davis' Hurricane staff -- sees one of his good friends and mentors on the opposite sideline Saturday, it'll still be an odd feeling, just as it was last year when Miami went to Chapel Hill and lost 33-27 in a game where it fell behind 27-0 by halftime.

"We're playing against a guy that I really respect as a head coach and as a person, coach Davis," Shannon said. "I have coached with him for years here at Miami. We were here together when we got Miami changed around. He is doing a wonderful job at North Carolina in getting that program going. I cannot say enough good things about him.

"He has always been good to me and always had high standards everywhere he's been, wherever he's been coaching."

Davis and Shannon are linked in a number of ways, one of which is both are considered by many high school coaches around Florida as two of the premier recruiters in the college game.

Clint Hurtt would agree with that assessment.

Hurtt, now Miami's defensive line coach, was 100 percent certain he'd play his college football for Michigan, which wanted him badly. One conversation with Davis, though, changed Hurtt's mind and he became a Hurricane. And he still says it's weird seeing Davis in enemy colors.

"It looked uncommon when he was in Cleveland Browns gear. It looks uncommon when he's in North Carolina gear," Hurtt said. "But at the same time, as you get older, you understand things change. There's one thing about Butch that's going to stay the same: He's always going to stay hard-working and he's going to demand effort."

Neither side exactly enjoyed the extra attention heaped on this game last year, when Davis was facing the Hurricanes for the first time since his departure.

Shannon and Davis embraced at midfield when last season's matchup -- a loss that essentially began Miami's downward spiral that lasted the rest of the year and cost the Hurricanes a bowl trip -- was over. Once again, they were linked, just as they've been for going on two decades now.

When Shannon played linebacker for Miami, Davis was a defensive assistant there. When Shannon was in the NFL with Dallas, Davis was an assistant there, too. Davis eventually became head coach at Miami; Shannon was on his staff. And now they bookmark Larry Coker's spot in the Miami record books, with Davis preceding Coker as the 'Canes coach and Shannon following him.

Both coaches cringe at the notion of this being Butch vs. Randy II, yet neither can deny that this game means a bit more than most.

"With the exception of where I grew up in northwest Arkansas, I lived in South Florida longer, almost 12 years, than anyplace I lived in my life," said Davis, who still owns a vacation home in Florida, although he's only had time to visit it twice in the last three years. "I enjoyed the opportunities I had to coach there, both as an assistant coach and a head coach, so obviously there is a little extra significance."

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)