Robert Edwin Davie Jr. (born September 30, 1954) is an American former college football coach and player. He served as the head football coach at the University of Notre Dame from 1997 to 2001 and the University of New Mexico from 2012 to 2019. Davie worked for ESPN as a college football color commentator from 2002 to 2011.
Early life and playing career
Robert Edwin Davie Jr. was born in Sewickley, Pennsylvania to Robert Sr. and June. Davie was raised in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. As a student at Moon Area High School, Davie excelled in sports, lettering three times each in football, baseball, and basketball. During his senior year, Davie served as captain of both the football and basketball teams. The same year, his elder brother died of cancer.
Davie received a football scholarship to attend the University of Arizona. After two weeks in Arizona, however, Davie became homesick and returned to Pennsylvania. He soon enrolled in nearby Youngstown State University, where he was a starting tight end for three years.
In 1994, Lou Holtz, the head coach at the University of Notre Dame, offered Davie a job as defensive coordinator, at the recommendation of Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Moore. Although Davie twice turned down this job offer, after discussing the matter with his wife he agreed to work for Holtz. Under Davie, the Notre Dame defense improved, and in 1996 the team set a school record for number of sacks and allowed the lowest total yardage of any Notre Dame team since 1980.
In five seasons at Notre Dame, Davie compiled a 35–25 record including three bowl games. The 2001 Fiesta Bowl, a 41–9 loss to Oregon State, was the first Bowl Championship Series game in school history. His final season included the 2001 AFCA Academic Achievement Award when the Notre Dame football team posted a 100% graduation rate.
Notre Dame's performance on the field was inconsistent from year to year during Davie's tenure. Following a 7–6 campaign in 1997 which saw Notre Dame overcome a 2–5 start, the 1998 Irish were poised for a major bowl bid with a 9–1 record going into their 1998 season finale against USC. The Irish led 39-36 with 21 seconds left but were mired in their own territory and had to kill time for four plays because LSU had three timeouts. On 4th down with eight seconds remaining, Davie instructed his quarterback Jarious Jackson to scramble around in the end zone before taking a safety. Ideally, this would have wound the clock almost to zero, but instead, Jackson suffered a blindsided hit, leading to ligament damage in his right knee. Consequently, Jackson did not play against Southern California and Notre Dame, its offense rendered powerless, suffered a 10–0 loss. The team had to settle for a Gator Bowl bid and lost to Georgia Tech, finishing the season 9–3. A 5–7 campaign followed in 1999, and the national media began to question Davie's abilities.
In 2000 the Irish bounced back and finished 9–3 once again. Newly hired athletic director Kevin White promptly gave Davie a five-year contract extension. Within weeks of signing the contract extension, Davie's team lost in the Fiesta Bowl. With Davie, the Lobos won the 2016 Mountain West Conference Mountain Division championship along with Wyoming and Boise State.
After the Lobos' 2019 season opener, a 39–31 victory against Sam Houston State, Davie was hospitalized for heart problems, forcing him to cancel the post-game press conference. Run game coordinator and offensive line coach Saga Tuitele served as interim head coach for New Mexico's game against Notre Dame.
On November 25, 2019, it was announced that New Mexico and Davie have agreed to part ways.
Media career
Between his head coaching positions at Notre Dame and New Mexico, Davie was a college football analyst for ESPN.
Personal life
Davie is married to the former Joanne Fratangelo. They are the parents of two children, Audra and Clay. Clay Davie played football at Arizona State University.