University of North Carolina Athletics
Butch Davis Interview Outtakes
August 22, 2007 | Football
Aug. 22, 2007
Just before training camp, Butch Davis sat down for a wide-ranging one-on-one interview. The majority of that interview can be read exclusively in the football preview issue of Tar Heel Monthly. Some portions, however, didn't make the cut, and they are now available exclusively here on TarHeelBlue.com.
By Adam Lucas
Adam Lucas: You've talked a lot about wanting players who play with aggressiveness. How do you instill that in the players who were already on the roster?
Butch Davis: A lot of it is the way we talk about our program. We have high expectations. We want to be the best football team we can be this year. We also want to be the best program we can be. We're going to talk all the time about bowl games, ACC championships, and national championships. When you talk about success it breeds a desire for success. We brought in a talented recruiting class, but it doesn't stop there. We're going to bring in another talented recruiting class that will push this one. If they're the right guys, your players love being in competitive situations every single year.
AL: Why was it important to change the locker room and weight room (photo galleries available)?
BD:
There were two reasons to change the locker room. First, it was not conducive to building a team environment and team unity. By opening up the locker room, we want to avoid having those little cliques. The previous locker room had little cubbies of six to eight players and they had no interaction with the rest of the team. Just the fun aspect of going into the locker room and seeing all your teammates wasn't there. So it was an important change from a chemistry aspect.There was also a functional standpoint. It's important to be able to go in there in pregame or halftime and make adjustments. I want to get the team together and see everyone's eyes. We can also send the offense one place, the defense another place, and special teams another place. In the old locker room that wasn't possible.
With the weight room, a lot of the equipment was outdated. It needed to be refurbished. We also wanted to create changes with the recruiting room and things like the LED boards, because that creates a buzz for the players. It's a fresh start and a new beginning. Anytime you can do that it helps change the attitude of the program.
AL: How do you make sure you have time to oversee some of the non-football details while also preparing for the on-field work?
BD:
There's a fine line. You have to remember that the reason you choose to be a coach is to be a coach and spend time with your players...You have to have an ability to delegate. I have great people to work with like Corey Holliday and Andre Williams. They can handle things that fall under football operations and academics. You don't have to micro-manage non-football related stuff.AL: Is micro-managing necessarily always bad?
BD:
Yes. One of the greatest things that ever happened to me was working for Jimmy Johnson for 15 years. He had an ability to empower you and let you go. Once he knew he could trust you, he never tried to micro-manage you. People laugh when I tell them this, but in the 15 years I coached with him you could count on two hands the number of times he called a play on game day. Any input he made was prior to the game or during game week preparation. His ideas and philosophies manifested themselves during the week. Sure, he would make suggestions. But as far as saying, "I want to call this," that never happened.AL: How do you build that same kind of chemistry with your staff here at Carolina?
BD:
That's what we are working on. We have great chemistry. This is an outstanding coaching staff. They're good men, excellent coaches, and terrific recruiters. They treat kids the right way. We've really started to develop a respect for each other.AL: What do you want the Carolina football brand to represent under your direction?
BD:
On the field, it's hopefully an aggressive, full-out football team. Looking at the whole program, I want this to be a program with great class. I want people to look at it and respect the kids. I want them to play with sportsmanship and realize that everything they do in the community is a reflection on the University and the program.AL: You made some changes in the Miami uniforms while you were there. Would you like to do something similar here?
BD:
Nike allows you the opportunity to make significant changes every five years. They fund the software that allows you to make those types of changes. We'll make a minor change this year with the pants. That's the only thing they could do in our timeframe--there wasn't time for a full remake. They've presented us with some options of what we could change for 2008. I would like to unveil a little bit of a new uniform for 2008. But some things won't change. I love our helmet, for example. There's no way we can improve on that. But I'd like to look into some of the striping and color combination possibilities for the uniform.Adam Lucas most recently collaborated on a behind-the-scenes look at Carolina Basketball with Wes Miller. The Road To Blue Heaven will be released on September 1. Lucas's other books on Carolina basketball include The Best Game Ever, which chronicles the 1957 national championship season, Going Home Again, which focuses on Roy Williams's return to Carolina, and Led By Their Dreams, a collaboration with Steve Kirschner and Matt Bowers on the 2005 championship team.
