Bucs make official Davis' hiring as special assistant

Veteran center Jeff Faine, who played for Butch Davis with the Cleveland Browns, thinks the newly named special assistant of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers represents a key addition for first-year head coach Greg Schiano.

"Butch is a very energetic guy, enthusiastic about developing young talent,'' Faine said Monday after the Bucs announced Davis had been hired as special assistant to Schiano. "He'll be a great source of knowledge for Coach Schiano.''

Davis will assist and advise Schiano on a "wide range of football issues," the team said in its news release.

Davis, 60, served as head coach of the Miami Hurricanes when Schiano was UM's defensive coordinator in 1999 and 2000.

"Butch has been a close friend and mentor of mine going back to our time together at Miami,'' Schiano said. "He has had success on every level and I know he will be a huge asset, not only to me, but to the entire Buccaneers organization.''

Davis, who posted a 24-35 record as head coach of the Browns from 2001-04, will not be listed as an official member of Tampa Bay's coaching staff and is not expected to be on the sideline during games.

The Bucs, who named former Giants assistant Mike Sullivan as their offensive coordinator on Friday, are still looking for a defensive coordinator before Schiano and his staff head to Indianapolis for next week's scouting combine.

In his advisory capacity, Davis is expected to receive a severance package from the University of North Carolina, which fired Davis in July amid an NCAA investigation.

"This is a terrific opportunity to be a part of what Coach Schiano is building in Tampa Bay,'' Davis said.

After a long association with Jimmy Johnson in the college ranks, Davis followed Johnson from the University of Miami to the NFL in 1989 and they won two Super Bowl rings together in Dallas, with Davis serving as defensive line coach (1992) and defensive coordinator (1993).

"He's definitely got a good defensive pedigree,'' Faine said. "He recruited me out of high school and we had a very good relationship in Cleveland. Coach Davis is all about growing talent – and that's important for the Bucs because we've got a lot of good young players on our defensive line.''

Details about Schiano's staff have been scarce.

More than two weeks after Schiano's hiring on Jan. 25, the team has announced only two members of his coaching staff: Davis and Sullivan.

Though his hiring has not been announced, P.J. Fleck answered the phone Monday at One Buc Place. More than a week ago, ESPN reported Fleck had agreed to become the Bucs receivers coach.