Davies made his international debut at the age of 33 last month when he came on as a substitute in England's Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro, but he was left out of the squad to face France in last night's friendly at Wembley.
Instead, there was as a call-up for 21-year-old Newcastle striker Carroll, who came away with some credit after his first appearance in an otherwise disappointing 2-1 defeat for Fabio Capello's side.
Asked if he thought Davies and Carroll could end up vying for the same spot in Capello's squad, Coyle said: "We said this the other week when we were playing Tottenham and Peter Crouch was there.
"Whatever it is, it is. All you have got is players doing their very best. With Kevin, there is no doubt that he is in Mr Capello's thoughts for further down the line in qualifiers because of how well he is doing and how well he did when he joined with the group.
"I felt the young lad Andy Carroll did himself no harm at all with the way he went about it - and you have to bear in mind that he was touch and go with an injury."
Source: PA
Source: PA