[2] Davis's father, Kermit Sr., was the head coach at Mississippi State University for seven seasons, ending in 1977.

[3] He was an alumnus of the school and was promoted to head coach at age 34 after four years as an assistant for the Bulldogs.

[4] The younger Davis graduated from Starkville High School[5] in 1978 and then played at Phillips County Community College in Arkansas for two years, and transferred to hometown Mississippi State, where he played two seasons and earned a bachelor's degree in 1982 and a master's in 1984 while a graduate assistant.

[6] He had been an assistant for two seasons with the Vandals under new and first-time head coach Tim Floyd, who left for New Orleans.

[9][10] After three years at Chipola Junior College and two seasons as an assistant at Utah State, Davis returned to Idaho as head coach in March 1996, then left a year later to become associate head coach under John Brady at LSU.