College Football: Davis fires three UNC assistants

Published 12:00 am Saturday, December 9, 2006

Associated Press

The ACC notebook …

CHAPEL HILL — New North Carolina football coach Butch Davis has fired three assistant coaches, including offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti, the school announced Friday.

Assistant head coach and tight ends coach John Gutekunst and offensive line coach Mark Weber were also dismissed.

Davis, who started at North Carolina on Sunday, has not yet hired any replacements or decided whether to keep the rest of former head coach John Bunting’s assistants.

Cignetti was in his first year at North Carolina after helping build a powerful offense at Fresno State.

“I still feel the same way about North Carolina as the first day I got here: UNC is an unbelievable place, second to none. It’s a great place to live, a great place to coach. I’m just disappointed that we didn’t get enough wins to get it done,” Cignetti said.

Cignetti had two years worth $400,000 left on his contract. Weber, who had also coached at Fresno State, had one year worth $150,000 left on his contract. Gutekunst had spent three seasons at North Carolina.

The Tar Heels (3-9, 2-6 ACC) finished 10th in the league in total offense, averaging 293 yards per game, and its two quarterbacks threw a league-high 18 interceptions.

CHICK-FIL-A BOWL

ATLANTA — Barring unexpected developments this weekend, Georgia will play Virginia Tech in the Dec. 30 Chick-fil-A Bowl in the Georgia Dome.

The bowl, formerly known as the Peach Bowl, will announce its teams on Sunday.

“We will have our SEC team in attendance and our ACC team on the telephone,” said Chick-fil-A spokesman Matt Garvey on Friday.

Added Garvey: “If everything goes the way we think, it looks like our best possible matchup would have Virginia Tech against Georgia.”