BEREA, Ohio -- Butch Davis changed his mind and the
Cleveland Browns never did. They knew from the start Davis was a
perfect fit as their next coach.
|  | | Butch Davis jumped at the Browns' opportunity, and their contract offer. |
On Tuesday, after weeks of pursuit capped by a shocking,
whirlwind weekend, the Browns finally got their man.
Davis, who helped rebuild the Dallas Cowboys into Super Bowl
champions and turned around the scandal-ridden Miami Hurricanes,
was introduced on Tuesday as the new coach of the Browns.
"The coaching piece as far as I'm concerned is now in place,"
Cleveland owner Al Lerner said. "We've talked about having the
quarterback in place and the defensive end. ... And here we go."
Davis, a 15-year assistant coach under Jimmy Johnson, resigned
at Miami on Monday before signing a five-year contract with the
Browns, who fired Chris Palmer on Jan. 11 following a 3-13 season.
Davis, 49, will reportedly make in excess of $15 million over
five years, virtually tripling his salary and making him one of the
NFL's highest-paid coaches. Palmer made about $1 million in his two
seasons with Cleveland.
Browns president Carmen Policy wouldn't divulge the exact salary
figures, but jokingly took out his wallet and placed it on the
table to show that Davis didn't come cheap.
"This is a great opportunity for my family and a great
opportunity to get back into the NFL," said Davis, wearing one of
two Super Bowl rings he got with the Cowboys. "It's obviously a
challenge and you know going in that there are going to be some
tough times."
It would be hard to imagine any tougher times for the Browns,
who have gone 5-27 in their two years back in the league and have
been grossly overmatched in most games.
But Davis, who has dwelled in football's basement before -- first
with a 1-15 Dallas team and later under NCAA sanctions with the
Hurricanes -- relishes the chance to build the Browns into a winner.
"I really felt like if I was going to make the leap -- if I was
going to make the change and leave the University of Miami -- this
would be the premier place I could go," Davis said. "This would
be the type of organization that would give you a chance and give
you the resources to win. ... We're not going to let losing define
our character."
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Lemming on recruiting
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ESPN.com recruiting analyst Tom Lemming had Miami ranked in the top 10 in recruiting classes. Now, with the loss of Butch Davis, some of that is up in the air. Lemming takes a closer look at Miami's situation with signing day just around the corner.
Lemming chat wrap
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Davis, whose specialty is defense, said he would use an offense
similar to the pro-style one he had at Miami.
"Like all good coaches, we steal from everybody," Davis said.
"We want to try and be versatile. I don't believe you can be
one-dimensional and win. I think we already have some of the pieces
of the puzzle in place."
Davis' hiring surprised every team around the league, none more
so than the Browns.
After preliminary talks with Davis and agent Marvin Demoff
earlier this month, the Browns were convinced that Davis was
staying at Miami, where he was close to signing a five-year
contract extension.
Davis, who took over at the university in 1995 when it was a
national disgrace, led the Hurricanes to an 11-1 record, No. 2
ranking and win over Florida in the Sugar Bowl this past season.
He was comfortable at Miami, but that didn't stop Policy and
Lerner from pursuit. The Browns' top executives went to Florida on
Jan. 12 and secretly met with Davis for lunch at Lerner's home in
West Palm Beach.
"It was an exciting meeting, filled with a lot of great
conversation," Policy said. "His opinions and suggestions were
illuminating. If he was No. 1 on our list before that meeting, he
was No. 1-plus after it.
"I know that Mr. Lerner was very taken with this man in terms
of his presence, his knowledge, his attitude and what we perceive
to be a significant quality of leadership."
But Davis politely declined the Browns' interest -- although he
liked what he heard, Miami was where he wanted to be.
Cleveland then interviewed three coaching candidates last week,
and set up meetings with Baltimore defensive coordinator Marvin
Lewis and New York Giants defensive coordinator John Fox for after
the Super Bowl.
Then, late last week, Demoff called and said there might be a
glimmer of interest "and maybe more" on Davis' part.
"He was and still was our No. 1 candidate," Policy said he
told Demoff. "That started a whirlwind of activity, conversation
and negotiating that lasted until 2 a.m. on Monday morning."
Davis' hiring led to speculation that Dwight Clark, Policy's
handpicked director of football operations, would be reassigned.
However, Policy said Clark would continue to oversee personnel
decisions and, that like Palmer, Davis would be the most important
member of the organization.
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The Cleveland Browns announce Butch Davis as their new head coach.
Butch Davis says Cleveland is the premiere place to coach.