Feature article on Mouse Davis being hired by UH

About being considered the architect of the modern run-and-shoot offense, Mouse Davis laughed and said:
"Architect? I once tried to make a door, but I sawed off the wrong side, and it didn't fit. That's your architect." (HSA)


HSA Note: "Davis, who was hired as a UH assistant coach yesterday, is better suited to rebuilding the Warriors' offense. Although his job description is to coach the receivers, Davis' primary function will be to serve as mentor to Nick Rolovich, the Warriors' first-year offensive coordinator."


Happy to be hired by UH, Mouse said:
"I'm happy to be back. I'm good friends with Gregory" - he pointed to UH head coach Greg McMackin - "plus, I like Hawaii. I like the kids. I like Nick. Nick's the right kind of guy. If he weren't the right kind of guy, I couldn't do it. I hope it works out for everyone. What the hell, I hope it works out for me." (HSA)


About how he did not consider having Mouse take the offensive coordinator role from Rolo, Mack said:
"Never. Rolo did a great job. I believe he's a great coach." (HSA)


HSA Note: "McMackin said Davis, offensive line coach Gordy Shaw and running backs coach Brian Smith will contribute to crafting the game plan, but Rolovich will call all of the plays."


About how they will not interfere with Rolo calling the plays, Mack said:
"We don't meddle. If a guy calls the plays, he calls the plays. He doesn't want people talking in his ear while he's trying to call a play. Now, when there's a timeout, he'll talk to several guys, figuring things out. It's a strategic thing. But there's only one guy who makes the (offensive) calls, and that guy is Rolo." (HSA)


About how he welcomes the input, Rolo said:
"if I don't use the resources I have, then I'm an ignorant coach. Mouse is a great coach. I'm going to use him." (HSA)


About Mouse and him, Rolo said that when it comes to offensive theories:
"we're kind of like second cousins." (HSA)


About why he quit being Portland State's offensive coordinator, Mouse said of Jerry Glanville:
"He couldn't stop anyone. He wanted to be able to slow the game down. He wanted (the Vikings) to run the ball more. I said, 'OK, how about this: 'I'll run the ball more, but every time I run the ball more, you blitz.' He said, 'I can't do that.' I said, 'OK, good luck,' and I quit." (HSA)


Asked how he remained healthy at 77 years old, Mouse said:
"What's that?" (HSA)


When the question was repeated, Mouse said:
"What's that?" (HSA)


Mouse then laughed and said:
"Just messin' with you. I ride the bike, and lift weights, light weights. Fifteen-pound weights are heavy for me." (HSA)


HSA Note: "He also finds ways to tinker with an offense that has set passing records at every level. In 2006, Davis encouraged UH head coach June Jones to incorporate the shovel pass into the four-wide offense. That season, the Warriors averaged 559.2 yards and 46.9 points per game."


About how he doesn't mind when coaches make adjustments to his offense, Mouse said:
"That's part of the deal. People have to try to continue to get better. Do they always get better? Not always. Sometimes I'll have high school coaches send me tapes of how they changed the offense, and I'm like, 'Geez. What is that?' But, hey, if they're winning, that's OK." (HSA)


About how he wants people to hold true to the "guts" of the offense, Mouse said:
"It's important that you get the basics, and then you can build off of that." (HSA)


Asked for the name of the offense, Mouse said:
"I kind of call it the run-and-shoot because everyone else does. But I always thought it should be called the double-slot-with-motion offense. That's what I thought. But a newspaper guy told me, 'yeah, that's real catchy.' I just gave up. They called it the Silver Stretch (in Detroit). That's OK. It doesn't matter what you call it. It's still 11 guys trying to get the ball in the offense. Would that be a catchy name?" (HSA)


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