Butch Davis Gives Up on Raiders : Pro football: When team doesn’t make firm offer, Cowboy defensive coordinator takes University of Miami job.

Well, at least it won’t be Butch Davis.

The question of who will be head coach of the Raiders will remain unresolved following the expected announcement today that Davis, 43, has been hired as head coach of the University of Miami.

Art Shell remains Raider head coach, but his situation is tenuous, to say the least.

Davis, defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys, was interviewed twice in recent days by Raider owner Al Davis about being head coach of his team.

But Al Davis never offered the job to Butch Davis.

Butch Davis, who had been scheduled to interview Thursday for the Philadelphia Eagles’ head-coaching job, called former Dallas coach Jimmy Johnson last week to ask his advice about the three possible options--the Raiders, the Eagles and Miami. Johnson told him that, if the offer were made, he should take the Raider job.

When no Raider offer was made, Davis accepted a reported five-year, $3.5-million offer from Miami that includes a $1-million bonus when the contract is fulfilled. Davis replaces Dennis Erickson, who left to become head coach of the Seattle Seahawks.

According to one theory put forth by several Raider sources, Al Davis was never seriously interested in hiring Butch Davis. But Al Davis has long been an admirer of the Dallas defense and couldn’t resist the opportunity to pick the brain of the man that ran it.

So where does all this leave Shell?

One source predicted that Al Davis will continue to explore other options, but might yet wind up retaining Shell.

The Raiders, considered among the most talented teams in their conference, finished out of the playoffs at 9-7.

According to sources, Davis recently offered Shell a large salary increase if he would give up the head coaching job and take a position in the front office.

Shell refused, saying he was not ready to give up coaching.

The club did make one hire last week, naming former Phoenix Cardinal coach Joe Bugel senior assistant and offensive line coach. Bugel, contacted at his Arizona home, firmly denied that he had signed a second contract, naming him head coach, perhaps to be used in the near future.

“I know my role,” he said, “and I like it. I’ve talked to the coaches and nobody has told me about any changes (with regard to the head coach). If there were changes, Al would tell me.”

So exactly what does it mean to be a senior assistant? “It means a lot of things,” Bugel said. “I’ll probably find out some of them when I get there. I like the title. I like the job and I like the fact that I’m going to get the chance to give my input to Al.”

In the meantime, Shell goes to work every day at the Raiders’ El Segundo headquarters uncertain of how long he’ll continue to do so.

For Davis, this will be his second tour of duty at Miami. He was the defensive line coach there under Johnson from 1984 to ’88.