Coming off of a big Thanksgiving Day weekend, Nick and I were impressed by DTH Sports Editor Jesse Baumgartner’s story about Butch Davis’ contract extension. Jesse, a guest on last week’s show, gave the details of the deal (a one year exentsion through 2014 and a $291,000 annual raise) which has brought backlash from Former University President Bill Friday and others. Members of the UNC Board of Trustees still must approve the deal, but many, including Chairman Roger Perry, already have indicated that they approve. It’s hard to argue with the fact that Davis brought in a top-tier recruiting class that showed flashes of potential, and selling out Kenan Stadium is a remarkable accomplishment (Mack Brown, the last UNC coach with a winning record at the school, failed to do it in his final game, even though the team was 9-1 at the time). But just as difficult to swallow is raising the salary of a man whose work is undone. Has he steered us in the right direction? Sure. Let’s just wait to get to the destination before we give the cab driver a tip. After all, if he’d leave after one year, he isn’t the right man for the Carolina job anyway.-Joe
UPDATE: Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt resigned his position, opting for a buyout and bolting to Mississippi. Davis had been considered a strong candidate to replace Nutt before signing the UNC extension.
