Florida Gators
Georgetown
Davis saw a rare talent in Muschamp during their only season together in Miami
Tuesday, August 7, 2012 | Men's Basketball, Football, Scott Carter
In working on a story about Tim Davis, UF's first-year offensive line coach, the conversation during an interview with Davis turned to how he tried to join Gators coach Will Muschamp last season when he first heard Muschamp was Florida's new head coach.
Davis was a little late as Muschamp had already made a move toward hiring Frank Verducci. Davis spent last season at Utah, his alma mater, after coaching the previous two seasons at Minnesota. When Verducci departed earlier this year, Davis didn't hesitate to pursue an opportunity to rejoin Muschamp.
The two don't have a long history together, but they did spend one season in Miami on Nick Saban's staff in 2005. Muschamp returned to college football after that season while Davis spent both seasons with Saban in Miami and one more at Alabama (2008) as the Crimson Tide's director of player personnel.
Davis said he gained a tremendous amount of respect for Muschamp's football IQ and management style in their one season together, making a mental note that should Muschamp ever become a head coach, he would have an interest in joining his staff.
The 54-year-old Davis, who has 30 years coaching experiences, saw a rare gift in Muschamp.
“He understands the whole thing – the recruiting aspect, the football aspect of it, managing the whole thing,'' Davis said. “Plus, he has one of those rare things about head coaches. Not all head coaches can identify talent. He's one of those rare guys that can do that at every position. He looks at film and understands their weaknesses, their strengths, that sort of thing.
“And that's a rare thing. I'm not going to sit here and say I know exactly what all the cornerbacks need. I'm mostly with those front seven. I call tell you what a good running back looks like and quarterback, but he can do it all, which is really amazing. You have to have that at this level. You have to be an astute evaluator. It's not so much the talent that everyone else likes -- it is talent that is going to do what you do. That's different.”
