Davis & Baddour Vow To Fix UNC Football

North Carolina head football coach Butch Davis and Athletic Director Dick Baddour spoke candidly about the problems facing their football team.  The two known problems, agent contact with players and possible academic fraud, are what is at least known and may torpedo a program on the rise.

The agent problem is a bigger issue than the alleged academic fraud, according to Davis.  “I don’t want it to seem like I take the situation [with the tutor] lightly, even though I do.  I’ll pretend to be as upset as anyone, but, frankly, I am disappointed.  I’m disappointed because these guys turned in work that was way better than what they normally did.  I told them ‘Guys, just get a C.  That's all you need.  Don’t get greedy and go for an A or B.  All you need is a C’.  Unfortunately they did not listen”.

Former assistant coach and number one recruiter John Blake has been a focal point in agent/player/improper benefit controversy.  Davis told members of the media, including this reporter, that he did not know North Carolina’s players were so highly coveted.  “This program has had some great players.  Lawrence Taylor and Julius Peppers are two that come to mind.  But for the most part our players haven’t been that good.  Even though I’m the head coach and even though I authorize all the scholarship offers and even though I scouted our players too, I did not know our guys were NFL caliber.  Sure, I was an NFL coach, but it was the Browns and you couldn't really call those players NFL caliber”

When asked what was next for the program, Davis and Baddour said it is a matter of trust and putting steps in place so a similar incident does not occur.  Davis made it clear his main thing is trust.  “The problem is that I trusted John Blake.  I trusted him to make sure he covered up the trips, watches, earrings, flowers, dinners, and movies our guys were getting.  He just didn’t do a good enough job covering his tracks and now its hurting me, the team, the program, and the fans”.

Baddour said he has spoken with experts about how to solve the problem.  “We identified people that have successfully dealt with similar situations.  Going forward we will be consulting with Pete Carroll and John Calipari.  Pete’s expertise in dealing with agents and keeping things covered up until they are long past will be an invaluable tool in helping us better ensure our student athletes can receive improper benefits.  We think Pete will get us to the point where our student athletes and their families receive cars and homes like PAC 10 and SEC schools instead of just jewelry and trips.  John’s ability stands on its own merit.  His continued ability to knowingly help student athletes obtain bogus grades and escape punishment is renown throughout college athletics.  We realize that UMass became a shell of a program upon his departure and that most of his accomplishments at Memphis have been vacated, but he has continually escaped punishment.  John really knows what he is doing when it comes to academics.  I can point to his work at Kentucky, where it is obvious that Coach Calipari has implemented his creative ways.  I am confident Pete and John will comport the wisdom upon our and show us the proper way to conduct our illicit actions.  I am truly excited about our football program's future once the inevitable sanctions are lifted."