Lane Kiffin, Butch Davis add intrigue to FAU-FIU football rivalry

Given their lack of history and mediocre results on the field, FAU and FIU have lived in college football obscurity – but that changed when the Owls hired Lane Kiffin and the Panthers brought Butch Davis back to Miami.

Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University are relative newcomers to the world of education, and are practically newborns in the world of college football. Founded in 1961, FAU is four years older than its sister school in the State University System of Florida. FAU was also the first to the gridiron, having fielded a team in 2001, one year ahead of FIU.

The two schools are natural rivals. FAU Stadium, home of the Owls, is located in Boca Raton — roughly 60 miles north of Miami, where the Panthers play in FIU Stadium. In the 16 years since football began at FAU, the pair has gone to four bowl games — two a piece — but none since 2011, when FIU tasted success following an 8-4 regular season. The Panthers have averaged 3.4 wins per season since the 2011 St. Petersburg Bowl. FAU’s last winning season came in 2008, followed with a 24-21 win in the Motor City Bowl, but since then the Owls have won 3.5 games on average.

Without a winning season between them in over five years, it wasn’t a surprise that both FAU and FIU were in the market for new head coaches following the 2016 campaign. The young rivals each made a splash as FAU hired Lane Kiffin as its head football coach, and FIU hired Butch Davis.

Both formerly head coaches in the NFL and at blueblood college football programs; Kiffin and Davis also have national championship rings as assistant coaches (and Davis has two Super Bowl rings to boot). Both have reputations as great recruiters as well, which is key since the pair is headed to locales best known for producing college football talent. Of course, both are also on a mission to rebuild the head coaching reputations that have been soiled through varying degrees of disappointment and scandal.

With two of the most experienced rosters in the nation returning for the 2017 season, early success on the recruiting trail, a talent-rich backdrop and a winnable conference, Kiffin and Davis could do big things in the Sunshine State.

The smart money is on both FAU and FIU becoming winning programs in the near future. Though, one big question is: if they do win soon, how long would Kiffin and Davis stay around? At the very least, they’ve made the young FAU-FIU football rivalry very intriguing in 2017.

The good, the bad, and the ugly history of Lane Kiffin and Butch Davis

Kiffin and Davis make an especially interesting pair given their histories. Each has plenty of good, some bad, and some ugly in their respective pasts. Here’s a quick run-down:

Lane Kiffin

Good

• Has won three national championships as an assistant at USC (2003, ’04) and Alabama (2015)
• Youngest NFL head coach of the modern era (31 years old)
• Youngest head coach in FBS (33) while at Tennessee
• Proved to be a top-notch recruiter as both an assistant and as a head coach
• Revived his career with a strong three-year stint as the offensive coordinator at Alabama
• Called plays so well at Alabama he knew a touchdown would be a touchdown before it happened, at least twice
• (Theoretically) learned how to run a program at the right hand of arguably the greatest coach in college football history, Nick Saban

Bad

• Has unceremoniously exited all three previous head coaching jobs
• 40-36 career record as a head coach (35-21 in college, and 5-15 with the Oakland Raiders)
• Is always in the news for some sort of distraction. Examples include:
  • Publicly accused then-Florida head coach Urban Meyer of recruiting violations while at Tennessee, and while doing so, committed an NCAA violation for discussing a recruit by name
  • Reportedly said eventual NFL Pro Bowler Alshon Jeffery would “end up pumping gas” if he signed with South Carolina instead of Tennessee
  • While at USC, Kiffin publicly stated he would put USC No. 1 in his USA Today Coaches Poll, though it was later revealed that he did. Kiffin subsequently resigned from his voting duties.
  • “Joey Freshwater”
  • Was left by the Alabama team bus. Twice.
  • Removed from play-calling duties at Alabama prior to the National Championship Game
  • Added unwanted attention by hiring Kendall Briles, and reportedly considered involving Art Briles could be involved in some way at FAU

Ugly

• Fired via telephone with the Raiders
• Fired by USC at the airport
• Starred in a terrible promo video in which he looked like a hostage, which Kiffin insists was done on purpose to get attention

Butch Davis

Good

• High school coaching roots likely helps build rapport with current high school coaches — a key component in good recruiting
• Proved to be a top-notch recruiter at Miami, both as an assistant and as a head coach
• Won a national championship as an assistant with the Miami Hurricanes (1987)
• Won two Super Bowl rings as an assistant coach with the Dallas Cowboys
• Coached both offense and defense, which is an underrated quality in a head coach
• Helped rebuild Miami after sanctions that included a 1995 bowl ban and the loss of 31 scholarships from 1996-98 stemming from violations that occurred during the Dennis Erickson era
• Posted a 51-20 record with the Hurricanes, including three conference championships
• Led the Cleveland Browns to the 2002 AFC Wild Card Game
• Following a period of five consecutive non-winning seasons prior to his arrival, posted a 28-23 record at North Carolina, including three eight-win seasons from 2008-10

Bad

• Posted a 24-35 record as head coach of the Cleveland Browns

Ugly

• Fired by North Carolina following scandals related to five players receiving improper benefits from agents and allegations of academic misconduct — though Davis believes he was made the scapegoat  in that scandal

Kiffin, of course, was the hotshot son of an NFL coaching legend that was handed an NFL head coaching job before he was ready, which ended disastrously. That led to a high-profile SEC job that he left after one year for USC, which ended disastrously.

He swallowed his pride and took the OC job at Alabama, and though he received several ass-chewings from Saban in the process and eventually fell out of favor in Tuscaloosa, restored the faith that he could be a head coach. After being rumored for the Houston job, and with the OC spot at LSU considered a backup option, the 41-year old Kiffin eventually landed in Boca Raton.

The 65-year-old Davis took a much longer, more traditional route to his first head coaching gig. Davis coached high school football in Arkansas and Oklahoma from 1973-78 until he joined head coach Jimmy Johnson at Oklahoma as an offensive assistant. After five seasons in Stillwater, Davis switched to the defensive side of the football and followed Johnson to Miami and the Dallas Cowboys, where he eventually rose to defensive coordinator. After 16 years as an assistant under Johnson, Davis returned to Miami as the head coach of the Hurricanes.

Davis guided the Hurricanes out of NCAA probation and rebuilt Miami into a national power before he bolted for the NFL in 2001. He recruited the majority of the 2001 Hurricanes squad that included 38 NFL draft picks, including 17 first rounders.

He spent four years with the Cleveland Browns, and two years out of coaching, then led the North Carolina Tar Heels from 2007-10. After more than a quarter-decade in the coaching profession, Davis finally had his embarrassing moment with the academic conduct scandal at North Carolina and was fired. Other than an advisor role with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012 and some television work, Davis had been out of football until FIU called.

It’s probably fair to say that no other rivalry in Conference USA features two head coaches with so much history — good, bad and ugly. And, as a result of their new coaches, FAU and FIU have raised the profile of their programs, which should help the Owls and Panthers make waves in C-USA as well as across the state of Florida.

The balance of power in the Sunshine State

Florida, Florida State and Miami are still the Big 3 in the Sunshine State, but the gap isn’t as large as it once was between those three college football bluebloods and the rest of the state. First of all, when the Gators, Seminoles and Hurricanes were all competing for national championships in the 1980s, ‘90s and 2000s, there wasn’t much competition.

The University of Central Florida didn’t start a football team until 1979, and the Golden Knights didn’t jump to Division 1-A until 1996. The University of South Florida began play in 1997, and came to college football’s top division in 2001. The schools, located in Orlando and Tampa, respectively, increased competition for the state’s large pool of talented high schoolers, but only among the leftovers. In their primes, Florida, Florida State and Miami cherry picked whichever blue chippers they wanted from Florida and the rest of the country.

But things are evolving. UCF beat Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl following the 2013 season. USF won 11 games last season. Florida State won a national championship in 2013, but Florida and Miami have struggled to win at a high level during the past decade. Along with the addition of Charlie Strong at South Florida, plus Scott Frost, who got a one-year head start on this group at UCF, the recruiting landscape in the Sunshine State has gotten tougher for everyone.

Things should get even more competitive in state with Kiffin and Davis in the mix since both have a reputation for hauling in talented players. Kiffin landed a top-10 class every year from 2009 — his only season at Tennessee — through 2013, despite scholarship limitations at USC. Davis regularly pulled in top 25 classes at North Carolina, but was best known for laying the foundation for what was one of the greatest, most talented squads in college football history: the 2001 Miami Hurricanes. Of course, it’s worth pointing out that the high school players Davis is recruiting today were born around that time.

There are literally dozens of high schools dotted along the map within an hour’s drive of both campuses, and there are hundreds of talented high school football prospects to recruit along the way. In fact, according to the 247Sports Composite player rankings, the 2017 recruiting class included 337 high school seniors rated as a three-star recruit or better. Almost every single one of them landed at a Division I program, spread across the country. Most of the ones that didn’t are headed to junior college.

There have always been enough players to go around, so many that schools like Rutgers, UConn, Washington State, Louisville, Kent State — everyone, really — sets up shop in Florida every winter to recruit the players that are passed over by schools like Florida State and Alabama. But now, with Frost, Strong, Kiffin and Davis around, the competition should be tougher than ever, and those great recruiters are likely to convince three-star prospects — and potentially a few four-stars — to stay home at a greater rate than George O’Leary, Willie Taggart, Charlie Partridge and Ron Turner did.

It’s already showing signs. FAU landed 17 three-star players, which put them atop the 247Sports C-USA rankings. The 24-man class includes several JUCO transfers that should provide immediate depth and compete for playing time right away. FIU signed 19 players, including 12 three-stars, which gave them the fourth-ranked class in the league.

Recruiting victories are important, but on-field results are what coaches are measured on. Fortunately for Kiffin and Davis, the Conference USA landscape is wide open.

The balance of power in Conference USA

Plenty of mid-major college football programs have made national headlines over the years. During the BCS era, Mountain West programs Utah and TCU played well enough to attract offers from major conferences. Northern Illinois and Hawaii both played in BCS bowl games. In recent history, Group of Five programs Boise State, Houston and Western Michigan grabbed some of the spotlight as participants in New Year’s Six bowl games.

Conference USA has had no such luck. Marshall jumped out to an 11-0 start in 2014, but because of a weak schedule never climbed higher than No. 19 in the polls. Western Kentucky has won 23 games over the past two seasons, but has yet to garner enough attention to merit a high ranking from the College Football Playoff committee.

Also, even as it has attempted to raise its profile, Conference USA has been the victim of poaching from the American Athletic Conference. In turn, when C-USA lost big market programs like UCF, USF, Houston and Cincinnati, it raided the Sun Belt for teams like Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky, North Texas, FIU and FAU.

Still, the Sun Belt has been able to catch up with C-USA in terms of prestige, and looking ahead to 2017, the Sun Belt has a chance to make a splash in a big way. Following impressive 2016 seasons, both Appalachian State and Troy should be listed among early contenders to grab the Group of Five spot in a New Year’s Six bowl game.

Nevertheless, FAU and FIU are the sleeping giants of C-USA. Only Texas schools Rice — located in Houston — and UTSA can compete in terms of proximity to big-time talent, and given its high academic standards, it’s not likely Rice will ever rank among the league’s leaders in recruiting. UTEP isn’t a threat either in much more open West Texas; the Miners had the lowest ranked class in 2017 according to 247Sports.

In terms of history, Marshall and Southern Miss have the most prestigious programs in the conference, with WKU’s recent success also noteworthy, meaning there’s no Alabama, Auburn, Michigan or Ohio State-like mystique to compete against. Middle Tennessee looks like the team to beat at this point in the 2017 preseason, but the Blue Raiders have won 10 games exactly once (2008) as an FBS program, but lost 10 games two years later.

In other words, FAU and FIU are perfectly positioned to build quality mid-major programs. Talent is available, the competition is manageable, and now, they finally have big-name coaches at the helm. Doing so would also help Conference USA, and could potentially draw interest from larger conferences should there be another round of conference expansion.

The Outlook for Kiffin and Davis in 2017 and beyond

According to research conducted by SB Nation’s Bill Connelly in January, FIU has the most experienced roster in the country in 2017 in terms of returning production. The Panthers return 85 percent of both their offense and defense, which Connelly expects to yield roughly a six-point swing in terms of points scored (plus-2.9) and points allowed (minus-3.6) compared to last season.

The offense was ugly through the first four weeks of last season and the Panthers failed to score more than 14 points until Week 5. That led to Ron Turner’s departure. As luck would have it, FIU woke up in time to beat FAU 33-31, and then picked up wins against UTEP and Charlotte to help build some second half momentum. The Panthers still finished last in the league in scoring offense (24.0 points per game), but given its experience — most importantly the returning trio of quarterback Alex McGough, running back Alex Gardner and receiver Thomas Owens — the unit should be better this year.

As for the schedule, four games look like sure losses: at UCF, at Indiana, at Middle Tennessee and home against Western Kentucky. The Panthers should have a chance to win every other game, and therefore, a six-win season and a bowl game is very possible. Another 4-8 season is also possible, however.

FAU ranks fourth in returning production. The Owls return 91 percent of their offensive production and 76 percent of the defense, which is expected to produce more than a five-point swing in points per game (plus-3.3) and points per game allowed (minus-2.1). Of course, the differences in points are just estimates, and it would be a good bet for FAU to outperform that.

Kiffin is an offensive coach that has proven adept at play-calling, but the former Alabama OC tabbed former Baylor assistant Kendal Briles as offensive coordinator. The move can be seen as both a positive, given Briles’ high-scoring output with the Bears, and a negative, given his father Art Briles was fired at Baylor due to the sexual assault scandal that riddled his team. Simply making the hire cast a familiar negative light on Kiffin in the way he handled questions from the media.

Nevertheless, Briles and Kiffin should provide a boost to an FAU offense that scored just 26.4 points per game last season, which ranked seventh in C-USA. However, the unit showed life in the second half. Over their final four games, FAU averaged 39.3 points per contest. The problem was the Owls went just 2-2 in those games because the defense — which surrendered a league-high 39.8 points per game in 2016 — allowed 43.8 points over that same stretch. As he filled out his staff, Kiffin brought his brother Chris and his NFL coaching legend Monte into the fold to try and fix what was a terrible defense.

The Owls have several intriguing weapons on offense, headlined by running back Devin Singletary and receiver Kalib Woods. Quarterback Jason Driskel completed 61.2 percent of his passes and averaged 201.3 passing yards in 12 games, and showed improvement throughout his sophomore season. But, talented transfer De’Andre Johnson, who comes with his own baggage following his dismissal from Florida State in 2105, will challenge Driskel.

The schedule is tough, with a home game against Navy and a trip to Wisconsin in the first two weeks. Following what should be an easy victory against Bethune-Cookman, the Owls make a sneaky tough trip to Buffalo to close the non-conference slate. The conference schedule will also be challenging as a member of the East Division, as well as drawing North Texas and Louisiana Tech from the West. Still, six wins and a bowl game are attainable.

But, assuming Kiffin and Davis do make quick work of a turnaround, and both FAU and FIU go bowling in 2017, what then? Will the coaches stick around to see the rival programs become mid-major powers? Or will they jump ship at the first opportunity in an attempt to climb back to the college football mountaintop?

Given their histories, Davis would be a good bet to outlast Kiffin in South Florida. Though Kiffin told Sports Illustrated’s Pete Thamel that he assured FAU officials he doesn’t see the job as a stepping stone and he intends to stay in Boca Raton a while there’s plenty of reason to speculate — given his history — he will jump should a college football blueblood come calling. It would be a surprise to see Kiffin on the sidelines at FAU Stadium in four years.

Given his time at Miami, Davis has more ties to South Florida and FIU has the look of a nice last job for the 65-year old. Expect Davis to give it his best shot to elevate the status of the program for six years or so, then retire and hand it off in good standing to a successor.

Next: 10 players that make 2017 the Year of the QB

But first things first, Kiffin and Davis need to get FAU and FIU turned around in 2017. The coaches will be the story this year, though should the Owls and Panthers win on the field, attention will eventually shift to the players. Both FAU and FIU have the tools at their disposal to make a splash in the star of Florida, rise to the top of C-USA, and potentially elevate the league’s standing among its peers.

But all of that’s speculation for now. What’s important today is the fact that Kiffin and Davis have brought their high-profile pasts to two low-profile rivals.