I wanted Butch back in 2016 when Mark Richt was hired—but even that might've been too little, too late. The real time to bring him back was post-Coker, but North Carolina hired him right before LC was let go.
Butch Davis would be 69 years old during the 2020 football season. Bringing him back for what would be a 3-5 year rebuild ... that's rough. Conversely, he was late 50's when he was hired by the Tar Heels and still in his prime.
Cut a lot of corners recruiting the way he did in Chapel Hill—and no way he could recruit at Miami the way he did 20 years ago; different time and place.
Also tough for a guy to come back to a place he once had success—duplicating that. Anything short of what he pulled last go-around—which is what he would be judged by—would be brutal to accomplish.
The shame is that Butch ever left in the first place—as well as burning bridges the way he did when he bailed out. He's admitted that if he could do it all over again, he would've stayed—and Miami would've been in great hands for years to come, as Larry couldn't handle the gig.
Honestly, blame Butch more than the "Butch haters" as (1) he left the program when he shouldn't have and (2) he burned bridges in a way the admin and BOT soured on his *** in a way they wouldn't take him back.