Miami Hurricanes head coach Butch Davis has taken the head coaching job for the NFL's Cleveland Browns, making the move a scant nine days before National Letter of Intent (LOI) signing day.

Davis had repeatedly said that he was not interested in leaving the Canes and was thought to be close to signing a five-year deal with them. But he told his team about the move this morning.

This ends a six-year reign for Davis at the helm of the Hurricanes. He took a probation-ravaged program that suffered behavioral problems on and off the field, and for the most part, cleaned it up. Although the Hurricanes were often undisciplined on the field under Davis, any off-field problems were generally taken care of firmly and decisively.

For most of his career at Miami, Davis's weak spot was his game day coaching. His Miami teams committed large numbers of mental errors such as delay of game penalties, his clock management was poor, and he was often outcoached by opposing coaches.

Emblematic of his lack of coaching control was a scene at the end of the first half of the 1996 VT-Miami game in the Orange Bowl. The Hurricanes drove deep into Tech territory, and when Davis opted to kick a field goal on fourth down, Miami QB Ryan Clement went ballistic on the sidelines. Confusion ensued, with Davis reversing his decision and deciding to go for it, instead. He sent the Miami offense back on the field, and when the Hurricanes committed a penalty, Davis sent the field goal kicker back in, only to have him miss the short field goal.

But in the 2000 season, Davis led the Hurricanes to an 11-1 record that included gutty, well-coached victories over Florida State, Virginia Tech, and Florida (in the Sugar Bowl). The Hurricanes finished #2 in the rankings. Davis appeared to have the Miami program on the right track and had reestablished momentum.

Only time will tell how this announcement, which comes just nine days before recruits sign their national letters of intent on February 9th, will affect Miami's recruiting efforts. It is generally believed that the Hurricanes and Hokies are not competing head-to-head for any uncommited recruits at this moment, so Davis's exit will likely not have an effect on VT recruiting, unless players who were previously considering the Hokies decommit from Miami.

Virginia Tech is recruiting DL Mark Chase out of Miami. Chase is married and has a child (according to PrepStar) and would like to stay close to home, and it is believed that an offer from Miami would be gladly accepted by him. But recruiting services don't believe that offer was forthcoming from the Canes. That may change with a new coaching staff, however.

The announcement of Davis's departure surprised Miami fans and followers, but his return to the NFL should not come as a surprise. Davis was an assistant for the Dallas Cowboys from 1989-1994 and was a part of two Super Bowl championships, and his desire to be a head coach in the NFL had been talked about for years.

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