SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 Sports) - The University of Utah football staff just lost another coach.
Tim Davis is leaving the team after just one season of coaching the offensive line to take over the same duties at the University of Florida. Davis was in his 2nd stint with Utah. He was the O-line coach from 1990-96 and was an offensive tackle for the Utes from 1978-80.
Head coach Kyle Whittingham recently hired Dan Finn to coach the centers and guards, leaving Davis with the tackles and tight ends.
Davis previously worked with Florida head coach Will Muschamp as an offensive line assistant when the two coached for Miami Dolphins in 2005.
“He was a guy that brought energy and passion to the job every day,’’ Muschamp said in a press release. “He is going to bring toughness. I thought he did a great job with our offensive line [with the Dolphins]. Everywhere he has been and he’s coached they have been able to run the football and create the play-actions of it, be able to spread the field, understand the protections and do what you’ve got to do to be able to keep the quarterback upright."
“You look at some of the guys he has worked for and you talk about Barry Alvarez, you talk about Nick Saban, you talk about Pete Carroll," said Muschamp. "You talk about those guys and what they have accomplished. He knows what it takes to be successful.”
Davis has a lengthy, 30-year resume, with ties to a handful of coaches at Florida including Muschamp, running backs coach Brian White and tight ends coach Derek Lewis.
“It was easy because of Will and Dan and Brian and D-Lew,’’ Davis said. “You don’t make a decision like this – leaving your home state and everybody you know – without having somebody you know. That’s one of the things in coaching you can’t do. You have to be able to connect yourself with the guys you work with."
“The SEC is the premiere conference in the country, and you get a chance to work with guys you’ve worked with who are very successful, very motivated, they want to be the best," Davis added. "You’re working in a great environment and a great program like Florida. It’s everything that you dream about.”
