Asked about former assistant — and current Florida offensive line coach — Tim Davis referring to him as “the devil himself,” Alabama’s Nick Saban said last night that he was disappointed in his old employee’s choice of words:

“It really is a little terribly disappointing…

I try to do right by the people that work for me.  It’s a tough demanding job.  And at the same time, if anybody had an issue or problem with me, I would want them to just tell me…

Twice.  On two occasions.  It’s just disappointing.  If somebody has a problem with me, I’d appreciate it if they’d tell me.  If I’m doing something to offend somebody, I’d certainly like to do whatever I have to do to fix it.  It’s not our intention.  It’s not what we try to do.

We’re in a tough business.  It’s very competitive.  Sometimes you’ve got to demand that people do things that maybe they don’t want to do, but it’s not personal…

I know it’s not representative of Will Muschamp and the University of Florida and the way they do things.  I know that because I’m close enough to Will to know that.”

I’m not sure I’ve ever heard someone say something is a “little terribly” anything, but the coach’s meaning is clear.  And the “twice” remark was a reference to the fact that Vanderbilt coach James Franklin called Saban “Nicky Satan” at a high school’s awards banquet back in January.  Franklin later apologized and said he was joking, though Saban apparently hasn’t forgotten the matter.

Alabama’s coach has a reputation for a being both a tough boss and a cold fish.  Even Muschamp’s parents have talked about how their son “got crosswise” with “that son of a bitch” while serving on Saban’s staff in the NFL.

At the same time, Kirby Smart and others have stayed in Saban’s employ and enjoyed great success as a result.  If Smart is hating life on Alabama’s staff he’s doing a good job of hiding it.  Jobs come open each December, yet he has stayed put in Tuscaloosa, as have many others.

Obviously, one man’s dream boss can be another man’s nightmare.

In this case, Davis should have kept his nightmare to himself.  A public figure calling another public figure the devil or Satan — even if it’s in jest — is going to draw a national spotlight.  That spotlight is now shining brightly on Davis, Muschamp and the Florida football program.

At some point — probably today — Davis will likely cough up the obligatory apology (which most people will immediately peg as being insincere).

And if he doesn’t apologize, the silence will be louder and more telling than even his initial “devil” comment.

On Tuesday, Florida offensive line coach Tim Davis told a Gator booster club that head coach Will Muschamp was a lot like their old boss Nick Saban in terms of planning.  But that’s where the similarities ended according to Davis:

“Will coached under the devil himself for seven years.  I only did three.  He did seven.”

Asked about that comment on Wednesday, ESPN’s Mark May sacked Davis with this verbal bullrush:

“I don’t know Tim Davis, but my opinion, he’s a classless backstabbing coward.  You’re talking about a guy in Nick Saban that gave you an opportunity to coach.  He gave you an opportunity to move up in the coaching ranks, so you could support your family, put food on the table, clothes on their backs.  Not for one years.  He gave you the opportunity for three years on his staff (two with the Miami Dolphins, one with Alabama).

If you have a problem with Nick Saban, pick up the phone, put you big-boy pants on and man up and say, ‘Coach, I got a problem with you and here’s why.’  You don’t go out in front of some group of friendly fans out there and say that about Nick Saban, a guy that gave you an opportunity to be a coach.”

Fifteen yards, unnecessary roughness.

Look, it was dumb of Davis — kidding or not — to publicly refer to a fellow coach as “the devil himself.”  If for no other reason than the fact that he should know that in this day and age it would become a national story that he, the other coach (Saban) and his current boss (Muschamp) would all get caught up in.  Dumb thing to say.

But to blast him as a coward?  That might be a bit over the top.  For one thing, perhaps Davis has put on his big-boy pants and called Saban.  Perhaps Davis isn’t pleased with the way things ended in Tuscaloosa.  The coach served as Saban’s O-line coach in Miami in 2005 and 2006.  He remained with the Dolphins in 2007 and then joined the Alabama staff as Saban’s director of player personnel in 2008.  In 2009, he left for Minnesota where he became the Gophers’ run game coordinator and offensive line coach.

At the time, Saban said nice things (whether he meant them or not) to the press:

“This is a great opportunity for Tim in terms of his position as offensive line coach and running game coordinator.  We’ve had the chance to work together here at the University of Alabama as well as with the Miami Dolphins, and Tim has been a hard worker and done an excellent job with each and every responsibility he’s had.  I know Tim is looking forward to getting up there in a coaching capacity that puts him back on the field interacting with the players.  He’ll do a great job with Coach (Tim) Brewster and the Minnesota program.  We wish Tim and his family the best.”

When Davis left the feeling was that Joe Pendry was about to retire as Bama’s offensive line coach.  Instead he remained on the job through the 2010 season.  Jeff Stoutland then replaced Pendry and worked with the Tide linemen in 2011 and 2012.  This offseason, Mario Cristobal was hired to replace Stoutland, who left to join the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles.

Whether Davis and Saban had a falling out about the assistant’s role at Alabama — director of player personnel versus actual on-field coach — seems to be the big question.  And no one but those inside the program would know just how that situation was handled by both parties.

Either way, Davis goofed by making his comment publicly.  And May went way, way too far in his overreaction.

Watch it below…

In every fanbase there are grumblers.  Those folks who are never happy, who always know better than the administration.  One can only imagine what the grumblers in the Florida fanbase are saying this morning.

UF announced yesterday that the contracts of four coaches on the offensive side of the ball have been extended and that three of those assistants have also been given raises:

Offensive coordinator Brent Pease: one-year extension, $100,000 raise (to $590,000)

Offensive line coach Tim Davis: one-year extension, $25,000 raise (to $300,000)

Tight ends coach Derek Lewis: one-year extension, $24,000 raise (to $215,000)

Running backs coach Brian White: one-year extension, no raise

So what’s the problem?

The Gators finished 10th in the SEC in scoring offense, 14th in passing offense, and 12th in total offense.  They did rank third in the league in rushing offense, but the team was very much carried by its defense last season.

So while handing out raises is nothing new — and most of these raises are tame when compared to other college deals — those grumblers in the Sunshine State will likely be grumbling that an offensive staff that underwhelmed last year is being rewarded for its efforts.

It was also announced that new outside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator Jeff Choate will make $290,000 per year.

The University of Florida has released details of the deals they used to lure three new coaches onto Will Muschamp’s coaching staff:


* New offensive coordinator Brent Pease will make $590,000 per year for three seasons.  Incredibly, in this age of million-dollar coordinators, that’s not that big a payout for the guy coming from Boise State.  His predecessor Charlie Weis had a deal worth $875,000 annually.


* New offensive line coach Tim Davis inked a one-year contract worth $275,000.  Poor guy.  Davis will replace Frank Verducci — an ex-Weis aide who was skedaddled by Muschamp after signing day.


* Finally, new strength coach Jeff Dillman will be paid $215,000 a year for two years to replace the incredibly popular Mickey Marotti.  Marotti exited Gainesville to join old boss Urban Meyer at Ohio State.


For Florida, those salaries are far from exorbitant. 

Just when it appeared the SEC’s coaching carousel was coming to a stop, a couple of schools announced changes on Monday.  So, here we go again.

The first change took place in Gainesville.  It was announced yesterday that offensive line coach Frank Verducci was no longer a part of Will Muschamp’s Florida staff.  Verducci was a Charlie Weis hire.  The two had worked together at Notre Dame before joining the Gators staff last offseason.  It seems safe to assume that Verducci didn’t see eye to eye with new Gator O-coordinator Brent Pease.  (Pease was hired from Boise State when Weis left for the head coaching job at Kansas.)

It was announced that Verducci left to pursue other interests.

Replacing Verducci, Muschamp turned to Tim Davis from Utah.  Davis is familiar with his new coaching family.  He served with UF running backs coach Brian White at Wisconsin from 1997 through 2001.  He worked with tight ends coach Derek Lewis at Minnesota.  And The Orlando Sentinel also points out that he also served on the Miami Dolphins 2005 staff along with Muschamp and defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.

“Tim is a perfect fit for our program – he has a history of coaching in a pro-style offense and shares the same program philosophies,” Muschamp said via press release.  ”It will be a seamless transition for our players and staff.”

Davis spoke of “shared philosophies” as well: “I’m excited to work with coach Muschamp again and join the Florida football program.  I don’t look at this as joining a new staff, having worked with coach Muschamp, Dan Quinn, Brian White and Derek Lewis in the past. I understand the shared philosophies of the staff and look forward to being part of The Gator Nation.”

Get the feeling that Weis and Verducci didn’t really share the same philosophies?

Davis inherits an offensive line that was riddled with depth issues last season.