Michigan State Davis began his football coaching career as a graduate assistant for the
Michigan State Spartans.
San Francisco 49ers On February 6, 2005, Davis was hired by
San Francisco 49ers head coach
Mike Nolan to be the defensive coordinator on the team after a six-hour interview. One of the reasons Davis got the job was because he had experience with the
3-4 defense that Nolan wanted to implement in San Francisco's defense and a recommendation Nolan got from
New York Giants DC
Tim Lewis. In 2011-2012, while at the Cleveland Browns, linebacker D'Qwell Jackson also posted consecutive 100 plus tackle seasons with a career best 149 tackles in 2011. Paired with Davis's coaching, in addition to his 149 career best tackles, Jackson earned his 1st Pro Bowl alternate selection.
Philadelphia Eagles On February 7, 2013, Davis was hired by the
Philadelphia Eagles as their defensive coordinator under head coach
Chip Kelly. Under Davis, in 2014, the Eagles defense tied for 2nd in the NFL for sacks (49), ranked 5th in rush yards per attempt and tied for 6th in takeaways (28), including an NFL high 23 forced fumbles. In 2014, Connor Barwin was selected to his first Pro Bowl appearance. In 2015, DT Fletcher Cox and S Malcolm Jenkins were both selected to the Pro Bowl, despite the team rank of 31st in pass TD's allowed and 32nd in rushing yards allowed. Following that season, Fletcher Cox, Malcolm Jenkins and Mychal Kendricks all signed their highest contracts of their careers. On January 19, 2016, Davis was not retained after new head coach
Doug Pederson hired
Jim Schwartz to replace him.
Ohio State In December 2016, Davis was hired by
Ohio State as their linebackers coach. All of Davis's starting linebackers have had opportunities in the NFL. Chris Worley (Cincinnati Bengals), Jerome Baker (Miami Dolphins), Dante Booker (Arizona Cardinals) and Malik Harrison (Baltimore Ravens). During his two seasons, Ohio State finished 25-3 winning two Big 10 Championship Games.
Arizona Cardinals (second stint) On January 11, 2019, Davis was hired by the
Arizona Cardinals as their linebackers coach under defensive coordinator
Vance Joseph and head coach
Kliff Kingsbury. In 2019, linebacker Jordan Hicks recorded a career best 150 tackles, 3rd highest in the NFL for the 2019 season. Hicks also had an NFL best, 9 games with 10 or more tackles. In the 2019 also, Davis coached Chandler Jones to a career best/franchise record 19 sacks, 8 forced fumbles and 7 strip-sacks season earning Jones the First Team All Pro and Pro Bowl selection. Jones was also named the NFC Defensive Player of the Year and runner up for the NFL Defensive Player of the Year.In 2020, both Jordan Hicks and De'Vondre Campbell eclipsed 100 plus tackles for the 2020 season.
Houston Texans On February 28, 2024, the Texans hired Davis to be their new linebacker coach replacing
Chris Kiffin. ==Personal life==