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February 19, 2006

IU’s Davis now on easy street

Sports Commentary

By MIKE HUTSELL

After five-plus seasons in a relative Hades, Mike Davis is living the high life right now.

Sure, he announced on Thursday that he’s walking away from coaching at Indiana University at the end of the season, but did you see the sweet deal he got for parting ways?

Not only does Davis get $400,000 for the next two years to not coach at a school that never really wanted him anyway, but he also gets to ride out the rest of the season pretending he cares whether or not IU wins or loses and basically finding ways to stick it to a fan base that has been sticking it to him the last six years.

Can you imagine what my columns would be like if this newspaper told me I only had to be here two more weeks and when I leave I’m gonna get a fat paycheck for the next two years?

You’d spend two weeks reading 400 words about my favorite flavor of Big League Chew and about how I do an air-fiddle dance after every winning poker hand I’m a part of.

(And please don’t say that’s what all my columns are about. I only bring up the air fiddle two times a month, three at most.)

That’s the situation Davis is in now. After nearly six seasons under the microscope, there’s absolutely no pressure on him now. Whatever he says, does or wears — he can’t get fired because he’s going away anyway. He can start Kyle Taber at power forward now and chuckle when Paul Davis swats one of his shots into the student section.

If he doesn’t feel like wearing a suit, Davis can show up on game day in Zubaz pants and flip flops if he feels like it. What will they do, fire him?

Instead of answering questions after another tough road loss, Davis can crack open a pack of Marlboro Reds and talk about how Jerry Rice really impressed him with his moves on “Dancing With the Stars.”

What if Davis opens up senior day next month by dressing up like IU’s old cleaning lady and belting out his own rendition of the school’s fight song. All the administration can do is put their hands on their hips and shake their heads — “There’s old Mike at it again.”

Forget play calling, he could be the first coach in the history of college hoops to try a version of “The Flying V,” which gained prominence in Disney’s “The Mighty Ducks” movie series. He could draw up plays on an Etch-a-Sketch and see if the players could figure it out.

Mike Davis can enjoy being himself again. A guy who spent his first six years as a college head coach trying to prove himself in a situation that he never was going to be good enough to succeed in can kick back and enjoy life — and get paid handsomely to do so.

Mike says he wants to coach again, and if that’s the case he should probably ignore any of the above suggestions and type out that résumé.

But no one would blame him if he did any of those things because now no one can blame him for anything. For the first time in a long time, Mike Davis gets to be a regular coach who’s able to do his job whatever way he wants to.

That’s all he was probably looking for in the first place.

Contact Mike Hutsell at mhutsell@news-tribune.net.

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