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Miami's next mission: Keep Davis
By Wayne Drehs
ESPN.com
NEW ORLEANS -- Leaning against a Super Dome basement wall just minutes before Tuesday's Nokia Sugar Bowl, Warren Sapp watched quietly as Miami's player poured out of the locker room.
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Instead of hooting, hollering or even slapping a few fives, the Miami alum just stood there, nodding as everyone walked by. It was the quietest display of confidence, blended with arrogance, that one could exhibit.
Apparently, Sapp knew before the game what everybody knows now -- these Hurricanes, the same ones that won four national championships from '83-'91 and were later ravaged by NCAA sanctions, are back.
Now comes step No. 2, which may prove even more challenging than the revival, and that's keeping head coach Butch Davis, the man who orchestrated this turnaround, in Coral Gables.
Davis, whose coaching stock has skyrocketed as a result of the Miami resurgence, has been courted by numerous college and NFL teams in the past couple months, with the latest report saying he was to meet with the Cleveland Browns Wednesday.
Davis denied the meeting and has continuously said he wishes to remain with Miami, with little intentions of going elsewhere for the time being. But the fact that he has yet to sign a contract extension proposed a month ago has left many wondering.
But that may change, Davis said Wednesday morning, less than eight hours removed from Miami's 34-20 Sugar Bowl win. Davis said he plans on meeting with Miami athletics director Paul Dee on the team's flight back to Miami to hammer out the final points of the contract.
Davis, 49, is currently in the fourth year of a seven-year deal and makes about $900,000 annually. The school is offering a new five-year deal that would average in the $1.5 million range.
"I hope to meet with Paul so we can get this thing signed today," Davis said. "We've talked a little bit over the past couple days casually and I think we are close."
The contract was first offered to Davis about a month ago, after overtures from Alabama and a meeting with the Houston Texans, but an agreement has yet to be made. Dee said last week that the main stumbling point was the length of the contract, with Dee looking for a five-year deal with a penalty for leaving early, while Davis' eyes set on a shorter contract.
At a Sugar Bowl press conference this week, Davis denied that point.
"It's not the length of the contract, it's not necessarily the salaries, it's not much about the facilities and stuff anymore," said Davis, who has publicly and privately complained this year about being the 30th highest-paid coach in the game. "It has to do with the way in which the salary is structured. It's not the total package; it's just the way in which it's divided up."
Davis, who turned heads last month when he signed with NFL agent Marvin Demoff, a known friend of Texans General Manager Charley Casserly, said he's ready to get the deal done so he can begin focusing on next year.
"Marvin and Paul are ready to get together over the phone and see if they can't hammer out those last few issues," he said. "And if they can't, they'll meet in person. I really want to get this done as soon as possible."
In six seasons at Miami, Davis has returned the Hurricanes to national prominence and done so while cleaning up the program's tarnished image. Off the field, he's improved the team's graduation rate and kept players out of trouble while on it, he's coached the team to an 11-1 record and a shot at the school's fifth national championship, depending on the outcome of Wednesday's Orange Bowl.
Miami senior linebacker Dan Morgan said after Wednesday's win that Davis has been honest and upfront with the team about his future and managed to keep the rumors from distracting the goal of a national championship.
"He's handled it right," Morgan said. "He told us, 'I want to stay here. I took this job for a reason. Why would I leave this program? We came so far, just to leave and throw it away.'
"I know he's going to make the best decision for him and his family. Hopefully he'll go with his gut feelings. To be honest, I don't think he's going anywhere."
In addition to flirtations with Alabama and the Texans, Davis has also been mentioned as a candidate to take over operations with the Washington Redskins. In previous seasons he has been courted by Dallas, a team with which he was a former defensive coordinator, along with the Oakland Raiders, LSU, Oklahoma and Arkansas.
He's frequently said he'd never leave Miami for another college job, though he always has left the door to the NFL open.
Wednesday morning, when asked what challenges would remain in college should the Hurricanes win a share of the national championship he explained a desire to repeat.
"To keep doing this," he said. "That's the challenge. I want to be like Xerox and keeping pumping these things out."
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