Contract Dispute With UNC Obstacle To Butch Davis' FIU Coaching Position

Contract Dispute With UNC Obstacle To Butch Davis' FIU Coaching Position

Butch Davis is eager to take on the coaching position offered to him at Florida International University, but it looks like a contract dispute with him and the University of North Carolina may stand in the way of his new job.

FIU has been courting Davis for the head coaching job since its sudden termination of Mario Cristobal. However, Davis is still owed $1.8 million from a settlement he agreed to with UNC during his dismissal as head coach in 2011, according to Fox Sports. The termination was the result of an NCAA investigation into the program, despite no evidence that Davis engaged in any wrongdoing. Apparently, UNC is reticent about holding up their end of the contract settlement if Davis agrees to take on another coaching position with a different school. Fox notes that a similar situation occurred during his hiring earlier with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

If Davis agrees to go ahead without resolving the dispute, he would take a considerable pay cut. His salary to coach with the FIU Panthers would stand at $500,000 a year, while the settlement from UNC would provide an annual payout of $590,000 for the next three years, the source notes.

The final result may come down to whether FIU can offer a large enough incentive package to lure Davis away from trying to resolve the contract dispute. Although it may be possible to alter the terms of the existing settlement agreement with UNC, this is not a topic that has yet been discussed extensively between the two parties. Instead, it appears that for now, the standoff continues.