CLEVELAND, Ohio -- At the age of 65, Butch Davis is coaching again.

He's coaching at Florida International University, coaching a Division I team that hasn't had a winning season since 2011.

It's been six years since Davis coached anywhere.

It's been 13 years since he quit as the Cleveland Browns coach in the middle of the 2004 season.

And he's still the last Browns coach to lead the team to the playoffs. That was in 2002, and he's the only Browns coach to reach the playoffs since the team returned in 1999.

That's why I called Davis.

"I have never been around a more passionate fan base or better educated fans than the Cleveland fans," Davis said.

Davis is an outstanding recruiter. He is a natural salesman. There's something about Davis and his relentless enthusiasm that makes you want to believe him.

So I believe him when he praises Browns fans.

"That year we went to playoffs, there was electricity in the stadium," said Davis. "When we beat Atlanta to put ourselves in position to go to the playoffs, the stadium was rocking. It was LOUD."

A FEW GOOD MEMORIES

Next thing I knew, Davis and I were talking about William Green's 64-yard run to set up that 24-16 victory over Atlanta.

That's right, William Green ... who rushed for 178 yards in that game.

And we talked about the Browns losing to Pittsburgh, 36-33, in a snowstorm. Kelly Holcomb threw for 429 yards, including three touchdowns.

"No disrespect to Dennis Northcutt, but if he catches that pass (near the end of the game), we win," said Davis.

Instead, the Browns lost.

Davis was the coach when Dwayne Rudd took off his helmet too early, thinking the game was over. That drew a penalty -- leading to a loss.

Davis was the coach of the infamous "Bottle Game" when Browns fans threw plastic bottles on the field over a disputed call by the officials.

Davis was the coach when it was a Tim Couch/Kelly Holcomb quarterback debate, Davis picking Holcomb to open the 2003 season partly on a "gut feeling."

But in the first two seasons of Davis (2001-02), the Browns had a combined 16-16 record.

That's the best back-to-back records (7-9, 9-7) since the Browns returned in 1999.

"I didn't know that," said Davis. "I think back to some of the big games we had. The stadium was really rocking. Can you imagine how loud the fans would be if the Browns really got it going?"

I can...

But I almost can't because it's been so long since the team was even good enough to dream about the playoffs.

It's hard to remember now, but Davis delivered two of the most fun seasons since the team returned in 1999. The other was the 10-6 team in 2007, the last time the Browns had a winning record.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN

Hiring Davis looked like a great move.

Davis had been in the NFL as a defensive coordinator under Jimmy Johnson in Dallas. He had a 51-20 record at Miami, including a No. 2 national ranking in 2000. At the age of 48, he seemed to have the right combination of pro and major college experience.

"Mr. (Al) Lerner was spectacular," said Davis. "A great business man. He was an ex-Marine. That man was tough. Carmen Policy had been a part of Super Bowl winners in San Francisco."

Davis said Lerner told him that this "was a 10-year job." He was taking over an expansion team that was two years old.

"Listening to Mr. Lerner, I said, 'OK, this is a guy who gets it,'" said Davis.

As the Browns were moving toward the 2002 playoffs, Lerner died of cancer on October 23, 2002.

"That changed everything," said Davis. "I don't know all the details, but there were some conflicts between Randy Lerner (Al's son) and Carmen Policy. That led to Carmen starting his exit out of there."

Davis still wonders what could have happened in Cleveland had Al Lerner lived longer and Policy remained at the top of the front office.

THE MONEY MESS

After the 9-7 season, the Browns were in a salary cap mess. Part of the reason was the team had given huge contracts to Tim Couch, Courtney Brown and Gerard Warren. They were high draft choices, and this was before the rookie salary scale.

This gets complicated. Mistakes were made during the two years before Davis, and Davis made some poor moves.

Couch (1999) and Brown (2000) were the top picks in the draft. In 2001, Davis passed up a chance to take defensive lineman Richard Seymour or future Hall of Fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson to grab Warren with the No. 3 pick.

He also overpaid for some free agents, just as the Policy did before Davis arrived.

"Randy came in and wanted us to cut $30 million from the payroll right now," said Davis. "He said we weren't going to push contacts out to the future, we're not going over the cap. Those were things his father and Carmen had done in previous years. We started letting guys go who were a significant part of that 9-win team."

With Policy losing influence, Davis was gaining more power in the front office. He also had to deliver news to the players about the salary cap situation.

Among the players cut by the Browns were Corey Fuller, Earl Holmes, Dwayne Rudd, Dave Wohlabaugh and others.

"Some of the veterans thought we were going back to 1999 and 2000 again," said Davis. "Guys leaving seemed to be the happiest."

I'm not going to sort through who did what. It was clear Davis had taken on too much, acting basically as general manager and coach. Randy Lerner was overwhelmed as the owner. He never expected to be replacing his father so soon.

After the playoff appearance, the Browns were 5-11 in 2002. It was a mess with injuries and a lack of veteran leadership. The poor drafting also haunted the franchise.

WHY HE QUIT

The 2004 season was more of 2003. Jeff Garcia opened as the starting quarterback. The team kept losing. After a 54-48 loss to Cincinnati, the Browns record was 3-9.

Before that season, Davis passed on a chance to pick quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, drafting Kellen Winslow instead.

Davis was feeling "a lot of anxiety." He did suffer a panic attack during that loss to the Bengals. He resigned after the game.

Davis doesn't want to say much about his departure.

But I heard Randy Lerner had become very disenchanted with Davis and was planning a coaching change. When I mentioned this to Davis, he said he also had heard it.

In other words, he was certain he was through after the season. He wasn't feeling well. He no longer had the confidence of ownership. So he left.

TAKING A HIT

I'm not going to spend much time on what happened with Davis in North Carolina (2007-2010).

Major problems hit not just the football program, but several athletic teams there.

In 2013, respected college football author and writer Bruce Feldman did a long story on Davis at North Carolina. Written for CBS sports, the key point is Davis has a letter from Shepard Cooper. He is the NCAA Director of the Committee on Infractions.

Shepard wrote: "This is to confirm that former University of North Carolina head football coach Paul 'Butch' Davis was not alleged to have been involved in any violations of NCAA legislation at the University of North Carolina."

A lot was wrong in Chapel Hill. An assistant coach had brought in an agent, who paid some players. There was academic fraud that carried over several teams. Davis should have been more diligent. But in the end, the NCAA found no fault with him.

"There were eight different investigations," said Davis. "Not one single violation was attached to me. But there was still damage to my character and integrity, that was the worst part. Some of that stuff was going on 17 years before I got there."

STARTING OVER

The man who gave Butch Davis another shot at coaching is Pete Garcia.

Garcia was a recruiting coordinator and director of football operations for six years when Davis was at Miami.

When Davis came to the Browns, Garcia was hired as director of player personnel.

In 2006, Garcia joined the athletic department at Florida International as athletic director. He hired Davis after FIU finished 4-8.

The football program has existed for 15 years and has only 52 total victories.

Davis had been a advisor to Greg Schiano when he was head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2012-13. Davis also did a lot of work for ESPN.

"I'd go to places like Alabama and Nebraska and watch practice to prepare for (broadcasting) games," said Davis. "I missed it. I wanted to be out there, running drills with the kids, having a whistle around my neck."

FIU is in Miami. This is a home-field advantage for Davis, who has recruited the area for decades.

"Last year, there were something like 450 players from Florida to get Division I scholarships," said Davis. "We only need 20-25 each year. This is like coming home to me."

Davis talked about "missing kids, missing coaching."

His age is 65, his heartbeat for the job sounds like a 35-year-old getting his first big break.

"We're not going to beat Alabama," he said. "But we can have a good football program here."

FIU plays in the Conference USA. He'll face Lane Kiffin, the new coach at Florida Atlantic. That university is in Boca Raton. FIU is picked sixth in the seven-team division.

Davis told me about FIU's 53,000 undergraduate students, about it's law school ... medical school ... marine biology school.

"Academically, it's fabulous," he said. "I'm a young 65. This is fun for me."

And his thoughts about Cleveland?

"When it comes to the fans, they are the best," said Davis. "I have tremendous empathy for them because of all they have gone through."