Continued Fallout: Baddour Resigns (Updated 3pm)

This chaos clearly still isn’t over for the Flagship.

Today, AD Dick Baddour “resigned.”

Dick Baddour announced his resignation on Thursday in order for chancellor Holden Thorp to find a new football coach.

Thorp said he would interview interim candidates today but would not name a successor for football coach Butch Davis, who was fired on Wednesday.

From Chip Patterson at CBSSports.com:

Baddour’s contract is set to run through June 2012, and he informed the media that he has told Thorp to begin the search for his replacement “as soon as possible.” Thorp elaborated that Baddour would join the school in representing the program in Indianapolis before the NCAA Committee on Infractions. Once the school selects a replacement, Baddour will step aside from day-to-day duties but he will remain under contract until it expires in June.

Meanwhile, Holden Thorp offers more nonsense on why Butch Davis was fired (WRAL.com):

Thorp said that he believes that Davis was unaware of any improprieties that were going on that led up to the investigation and the total buyout package could add up to $2.7 million.

“I don’t believe Butch Davis knew about the things that went on,” Thorp said. “This was really about the cumulative effect on the university.”

$2.7 million…well, that makes as much sense as the rest of this, no doubt about that.

Dennis Dodd at CBSSports.com offers his confusing take, albeit one with which most UNC fans probably agree, “North Carolina killed Butch Davis:”

North Carolina football killed Butch Davis. Not the other way around.

Sure, Davis is to blame for allowing the program to go rogue on his watch but that’s part of my logic. A coach successful enough to get to the highest level of the NFL, a man diligent enough to bring Miami back from the brink of scandal in a relatively short amount of time, a man who then basically delivered Miami a national championship, caved.

He caved because he knew North Carolina was not your normal salvage job. Even in the mediocre ACC, North Carolina’s football mediocrity stood out. The last coach to win 10 in Chapel was the first to do it in 16 years. Mack Brown got the hell out 14 years ago because he knew it couldn’t last. Butch Davis took the job because he was the latest in a line to believe he could make a difference.

But knowing the history of North Carolina football Davis was desperate enough to hire John Blake, a guy he had known for 30 years. That’s what makes the events of Wednesday even more tragic. It wouldn’t have taken much because Carolina fans don’t demand much.

That was Davis’ greatest mistake. He should have known better. He didn’t have to hire Blake, the coach by his notorious nickname “Black Santa”. Davis knew Blake’s recruiting coordinator’s rep. Hell, it looks like he hired Blake because of the dark side of that rep.

Davis ultimately concluded that Blake is what Carolina needed because it’s Carolina. There are reasons why the administration failed time after time to get it right, why a school with a glorious athletic tradition elsewhere has averaged 5 1/2 football wins since 1998.

1:45pm Update:
A couple ESPN folks have more to say.

Heather Dinich on the cost to UNC:

“We recognize that $2.7 million may be what this ends up costing us,” chancellor Holden Thorp said, “and I’ve reached the conclusion that even though this is a terrible time, the athletic program will need to pay whatever it is we need to pay to make the separation happen.”

Oh, they’ll pay.

It will cost them fan support.

It will cost them recruits.

It will cost them years.

It will cost them wins.

It will cost them their longtime, loyal athletic director, who announced his resignation effective June, 2012.

And the NCAA hasn’t even begun to levy sanctions for nine major violations.

Dave Hooker talks about its impact on recruiting and has some comments from 2012 commits.

The L.A. Times compiles the response of writers from various news outlets around the nation, who all agree that the timing of this makes no sense whatsoever. It’s hard not to suppose something else is going on that forced the issue rather than waiting until a more opportune time.

If there was any doubt that Carolina garners national attention as one of the premier programs in the NCAA, the sheer magnitude of the response to this by the national media erases it. But let’s see how one of the local folks reacts:

Season Ticket holder Dion Graham was also surprised by the firing.

“They fired him? You’ve got to be kidding,” he said.

This probably isn't Dion

It’s also a good time to once again point out, to all you Carolina faithful out there: it’s Tar Heels (two words), not Tarheels (one word). But don’t fret, Butch probably didn’t know that, either.

3pm Update:
All along, there have been questions about whether the 216 phone records would be turned over, and what they would look like after Butch self-redacted them. With such precarious timing for his firing, it’s certainly plausible that the 216 records at least factored into the decision. Well, Dan Kane of the N&O blogs that we may never know:

Davis told reporters last week that the university reviewed the records in the fall of 2010. That’s true, but the university never made copies.

“He didn’t give us the records,” said Nancy Davis. “We hired outside legal counsel to take a look at them, but he retained the records, and he has them now.”

Nancy Davis said she did not know what the university’s counsel reported back regarding Butch Davis’s personal cell phone records, but it so far has not been tied to any NCAA violation. Thorp said Thursday that there are no new allegations surrounding the cell phone or any other information requested by reporters.

To see what others have been saying, go here.

Since you’re probably dying to talk more about this, in addition to the comments below, you can head on over to the SFN Forums.

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General UNC Scandal

62 Responses to Continued Fallout: Baddour Resigns (Updated 3pm)

  1. Hungwolf 07/28/2011 at 11:38 AM #

    Meeting in October gonna be real simple. UNC shows up and says we have no defense and no proof that any of the allegations are true. Anyone that may have known anything is gone. What the NCAA going to do?

    Amazing that an intern coach was not named, maybe no one on the current staff wants it?

  2. highstick 07/28/2011 at 11:39 AM #

    The phrase “as much as” 2.7 million is interesting. The feed was so bad, I missed that originally but am listening to the replay now. Does that indicate they may “contest” the payout to Butch even though Thorp is still saying “Butch didn’t know”..if I’m correct there’s a “or should have known” in the contract…

  3. WolfpackerClass83 07/28/2011 at 11:40 AM #

    Looks like the hush money total payout just increased to $2.775M…

    Money will be pulled from athletic department and shuffled to BD’s account in an effort to simply shut this mess down before it goes nuclear, take the NCAA hit on FB program, and get them away from the UNCheat campus as quick as possible (before uncovering any additional “prongs”).

    Just when I thought this mess may have peaked and was heading toward resolution I now have hope that there might be more to be uncovered!

  4. highstick 07/28/2011 at 11:44 AM #

    My understanding if you don’t dispute the allegations and furnish proof, then you’re assumed guilty.

    Now maybe this is the equivalent of a “Nolo” pleading??

  5. wufpup76 07/28/2011 at 11:45 AM #

    Subtract Butch Davis.

    Subtract Dickie Baddour.

    Addition by subtraction, unfortunately. The flames look nice though.

  6. Wulfpack 07/28/2011 at 11:53 AM #

    I honestly don’t think Thorpe has had a chance to interview the top candidates on staff. Remember how quickly this went down in the past 24 hours.

  7. pmoediddy 07/28/2011 at 11:53 AM #

    Only thing better would be if ol’roy was involved too!

  8. MrPlywood 07/28/2011 at 12:14 PM #

    i have a little room left on my “I Support Butch” shirt for Dickie’s name, but if Thorpe bites the dust I’m hooped

  9. VaWolf82 07/28/2011 at 12:18 PM #

    The phrase “as much as” 2.7 million is interesting.

    I take it to mean that the buyout negotiations are not concluded. Anyone that has been around college sports any length of time knows that the contract is often just the beginning point of those negotiations. Part of Tressel’s buyout deal was that he would cooperate with the NCAA’s investigation. It will be interesting to see if Butch’s package includes the same clause.

  10. IamGumbyDammit 07/28/2011 at 12:26 PM #

    They need to name an NCSU alum as AD at UNX. Payback is a bitch.

  11. GAWolf 07/28/2011 at 12:31 PM #

    Since NC has so much extra money laying around these days it seems to be a great idea to pay an AD for a year while he steps away from his day to day responsibilities so the can pay another person to do those and to buy out a football coach who should be fired for cause. Both of these wreak of hush money.

    You really couldn’t write a better movie script.

  12. tuckerdorm1983 07/28/2011 at 12:32 PM #

    couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of guys. This really is a self-imposed death penalty for the program. Interim coach this year, meaning very little recruiting. Sanctions by the NCAA, meaning very little recruiting. Finally, no real coach is gonna touch this job where the team is on probation for several years and no bowl or tv. More recruiting falters. In the end, this spells years of dwelling at the bottom of the division. I only wish now they were in our division.

  13. highstick 07/28/2011 at 12:38 PM #

    After listening to a better version of the presser, Thorp does pretty emphatically say that Butch was not fired for cause. Seems like that would sorta box them in a corner unless they’ve got some surprises for Butch and his attorney.

    2.7 to supposedly “not tarnish the brand” might be reasonable…If it works! Along with refusing to answer any questions or furnish phone records…2.7 might actually be cheap!

    Saw some interesting speculation on PP about the Swahili course this morning..Like McAdoo’s paper had been submitted “more than one time before in the class”..That would really be interesting..

  14. GAWolf 07/28/2011 at 12:55 PM #

    Y’all this thing is about to blow up beyond anyone’s wildest dreams it seems….. When I say movie material….if about two more things being tossed around currently are even close to accurate….this thi is about t seriously be made into a movie.

    I wonder who will play SFN? Can we all be invited to the premier?

  15. GAWolf 07/28/2011 at 12:57 PM #

    Money can fix ugly highstick but it can’t fix stupid.

  16. T-Pack 07/28/2011 at 12:58 PM #

    TODAY is a day that will live in infamy in UNC history. Not because of Butch being fired, but because of talk of a $2.7 mil payoff for him to walk away and shut up. North Carolinians, many of whom are dealing daily with the effects of a depressed economy, will cease to see this as a “bad apples” controversy in a sport they may not even care about and will begin to seeing it as an serious issue of wasting tax payer dollars (regardless of where the $2.7 mil comes from . . . our university, our money). People who were at the periphery or weren’t at all interested before will begin to complain and demand accountability . . . and facts. The foundation for REAL investigations has just been laid. This is a “tea party” kind of moment.

    And the phrase “Butch slapped” that I saw used on here earlier will become part of the national lexicon, as may the phrase “married a stripper.”

  17. state73 07/28/2011 at 1:07 PM #

    2 down! 1 to go. Thorpe.

  18. Hungwolf 07/28/2011 at 1:17 PM #

    Support Facebook Page Support Butch Davis Post after the press conference: “Un-freaken-believable. That man is the “leader” of this great University. Sad. Very, very sad. We must demand change at the top. And by the way Thorp, this will end up costing us WAY more than $2.7 million.”

    UNC-CHeat will now self destruct from within. Bunch of pissed off Liberals and Wal-Mart Rednecks fighting with each other.

  19. patientwuf 07/28/2011 at 1:23 PM #

    I agree state73. I stated on a post a couple of weeks ago that something had to happen when Austin made a threat on Twitter.

    Scapegoat 1 and 2. The timing of this is lousy which indicates something more is happening or the UNC brain trust doesn’t want anything else to surface.

    Heather Dinich(espn) WOW!!
    http://espn.go.com/blog/ACC/post/_/id/26879/unc-going-backwards-instead-of-moving-on

  20. SeaWolf 07/28/2011 at 1:25 PM #

    The first day of June 2012? You guessed it.

    http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/monthly.html?year=2012&month=6

  21. Rick 07/28/2011 at 1:26 PM #

    Dave “the turd polisher” Glen made sure everyone knew if Butch got another job UNC would have to pay him less.

    Glen is still blowing Butch and UNC. Maybe he can mention Charles Shakleford again. How that lawyer flunk out has a job I will never know.

  22. Greywolf 07/28/2011 at 1:29 PM #

    Foulup might be interested in the AD job. He has experience with Fuh-cilities and could help get that new athletic monstrosity built.

  23. GAWolf 07/28/2011 at 1:32 PM #

    I’m fine with glen being a unc fan and doing his job at the same time….I just don’t like that he thinks anyone is dumb enough to believe him when goes on and on about how objective he is. He’s a fan. It’s okay to be a fan and its okay to not be totally objective due to that…just don’t tell me otherwise.

  24. patientwuf 07/28/2011 at 1:33 PM #

    Maybe the heels will hire Tressel.

  25. Gowolves 07/28/2011 at 1:33 PM #

    I do know when they asked for the 216 records if they would be released he(Thorpe) said it was up to Butch. That tells me that no these records are not going to be released.

    I don’t care what anyone says. I beleive that those records are the smoking gun we have been looking for. He held off as long as he could. When they finally looked at them this month they realized(Dickie and Thorpe) how deep he was in trouble. These records were not looked at last year like Butch professes

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