Butch Davis: UNC Tar Heels Coach Can't Escape Agent Drama Engulfing Program

Ultimately, former UNC assistant football coach John Blake will not be a scapegoat.

He won’t be a scapegoat because this wretched tale of impropriety won’t end with scapegoats.

Blake resigned from his duties as defensive line coach at UNC last week because he felt he had become a distraction to the program by being in the middle of the ongoing NCAA probe into North Carolina football.

Blake coached defensive tackle Marvin Austin, seemingly the face of an investigation looking into alleged misconduct between UNC players and agents, and used to work with Gary Wichard, one of the agents in question.

Phone records showed that Blake and Wichard have had consistent conversations regarding players at UNC.

No conclusion had been made, but the dots aren’t hard to connect here.

There was a mess between Blake, Wichard, and numerous players.

If Blake stood at the middle of the investigation, then he had to go. To his credit, he made it easy for UNC AD Dick Baddour and resigned quietly, effective immediately.

But the problem is Blake isn’t going to be the last man to go. His name isn’t going to be sacrificed like some think was the initial plan.

If recent news is true, then head coach Butch Davis’ exit from the program won’t be far behind Blake’s. 

On Thursday, ESPN’s Mark Schlabach broke a story that linked another suspicious figure to the UNC investigations. 

A.J. Green and His Jersey

The NCAA suspended Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green for three additional games—the school held him out of its first game last weekend on its own—after it became known that Green sold one of his game-worn jerseys for cash.

The hypocrisy of the NCAA is astounding, but that’s not the issue here. The issue is to whom Green sold his jersey.

Chris Hawkins, a self-proclaimed financial adviser and memorabilia collector, contacted Green through Facebook and told him of his interest of buying the jersey.

The problem for Green is that the NCAA declared Hawkins an agent, thus leading to the suspension.

In an interview with ESPN.com, Hawkins said he gave Green $1,000 for the jersey and did not know that was an NCAA violation.

Hawkins said had no intentions of buying the jersey and then reselling it for profit.

"I didn’t come at A.J. like a marketer or an agent,” Hawkins told ESPN. “I’m not an agent. I wanted the jersey because I collect jerseys.”

That appears to be the truth, but it also appears there is more to Hawkins than simply collecting the threads of his favorite players. 

How Does This Tie into UNC?

Hawkins played football at UNC from 2001-’03.

He’s friends with many current UNC players and is also friends with many agents.

Hawkins hung out in Chapel Hill and used the workout facilities this summer with former Tar Heel Willie Parker.

According to Schlabach’s story, Hawkins has contacted numerous agents about their interest in representing North Carolina players in the NFL draft, and he has helped facilitate meetings between the players and the agents. 

It’s not the meetings that will hurt UNC. 

NCAA rules allow players to meet with agents as long as they don’t receive any benefits, such as a free dinner or trip.

What will hurt UNC is the apparent lack of caution it has taken in regards to monitoring its players.

Peter Schaffer, an agent from All Pro Sports & Entertainment, told ESPN that Davis invited him and another agent to Chapel Hill during spring practice to educate Carolina players about NCAA rules regarding agents during spring practice. 

While no misconduct may have happened, those kinds of decisions are the blood to the NCAA’s sharks.

Why Davis would ever welcome agents into the inner workings of his team is beyond explanation.

An NCAA official or someone from the compliance office at North Carolina could have answered all of the players’ questions about what they can and can’t do with agents.

Hawkins said that the NCAA has tried to connect him with the initial probe into alleged agent parties in Miami this summer, but hasn’t been able to link his name to those events.

Hawkins may have done nothing wrong at all and could be in the clear.

The same can’t be said for Davis and his program. 

Perception, Not Necessarily Truth, Will Haunt Davis

This is not an indictment of Butch Davis.

We don’t know what he did or didn’t know about any of the ongoing investigations.

Davis may not have known about any of the trips his players did or didn’t take this summer.

Davis may not have known about any of the academic cheating when a former tutor allegedly wrote papers for football players, even though that tutor worked personally for Davis and his family.

None of us have those specific answers. Davis really may be clear of all of it.

And it still doesn’t matter. 

Fairly or unfairly, the North Carolina football program is now one linked to academic scandal and agents. That is the public perception of Carolina football as we speak.

Whether or not all that has been reported is true, Davis is the face of a program that has lost all credibility and a lot of respect in recent months.

It may not be his fault, but there’s no other way to say it at this point in time, and it will probably cost him his job at North Carolina.

It’s the university’s responsibility to wipe the slate clean for its athletic department, and that would be nearly impossible if the names in question stick around. 

People will hear Butch Davis and they’ll think about broken rules and plagiarism.

They just will. That’s the reputation that has been brewing sine July.

The only way that Baddour can tell his boosters and alumni that the program is completely clean is if there is a new staff in place that will take the football program in a new direction.

That’s a shame to say because Davis has done a tremendous job in three-plus seasons in Chapel Hill.

The only reason UNC found itself in this agent debacle is because Davis and his assistants recruited players talented enough to attract those agents.

Is that his fault? No.

But in a world where billions of dollars and college sports collide, life ain’t always fair.

Follow Teddy Mitrosilis on Twitter. You can reach him at [e-mail].