Carolina Blue Skies Over UNC Program

The return of Butch Davis to the college coaching world may be the forgotten story of this year's off season. Davis comes back to the game where he was 51-20 at the University of Miami which included 3 Big East championships and a 4 -0 record in bowl games. When he left for the NFL he was highly regarded as one of the best coaches in the NCAA and is credited with laying much of the groundwork for Miami's 2001 National Championship.

As the dust settled on the college coaching derby it became clear that UNC was able to secure a coach that many thought would have ended up at one of the more high profile openings. UNC was able to score Davis because they were willing to allow John Bunting to be a lame duck at the end of the year and gained a head start in pursuing Davis over all others who would have been competing for Davis. A fantastic move by UNC.

Davis's has already made a direct impact in the recruiting world. According to Rivals.com, UNC had the nation's #16 recruiting class bringing in many highly talented players including the #7 player in the country, Marvin Austin. Davis was also able to make a last minute swipe on previously ND committed wideout Greg Little.

Davis has decided to go with two NFL assistants as coordinators for UNC. The real star may be Chuck Pagano. Pagano was last the defensive backs coach for the Oakland Raiders. The Raiders last season lead the NFL in pass defense. He was also the special teams and secondary coach with Davis at Miami. Offensively, UNC hired John Shoop who finished last season as the offensive coordinator with the Oakland Raiders. He's been knocked for having very bland play calling at the pro level but could work out well in college.

If Butch Davis can repeat the success that he had at Miami in North Carolina, and he can continue to put up big recruiting classes, UNC may very quickly become a force in college football.