One of the criticisms of Davis was his age. Davis will turn 65 on November 17. Sixty-five is the age associated with retirement, not taking on the task of rebuilding a football program. Fair or not, Richt is 56 and will turn 57 in February. That gives him eight years on Davis.
Davis has also been out of coaching since being let go at North Carolina in July 0f 2011. Davis was let go for his part in an academic cheating scandal at UNC. Richt has never had any allegations of wrongdoing in his programs. James could not take a chance on another scandal.