David Cutcliffe has been the commander-in-chief of football in the Bull City since 2008. Since arriving, he has completely flipped the historically-inferior program upside down. While a 76-79 overall record with the program may not seem outstanding, it is actually quite impressive considering what he has had to work with.
The Cutcliffe era has shaped Duke football into what it is today. While not nationally renowned, it has quietly become one of the more consistent programs in the ACC. From 2000 through 2007, the Blue Devils amassed an abysmal record of 10 wins and 82 losses. To put that into perspective, this program averaged one win per season over a span of eight years. You don’t have to be a mathematician to know that this is not good. After running through multiple coaches during this time frame, Duke University decided to hire then offensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee. Cutcliffe had head coaching experience coming into this gig, previously holding the reigns at Ole Miss. This was obvious when he arrived on the scene in Durham, as things slowly began to take shape.
Duke football didn’t suddenly emerge as a threat in the ACC immediately, however. It was a process. In 2012, the Blue Devils reached their first winning season under Cutcliffe, earning a trip to the Belk Bowl. Despite losing to Cincinnati, the horizon was begging to brighten. Duke would follow this with three consecutive bowl appearances, including the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl. The team had a down year in 2016, but bounced back with bowl wins in 2017 and 2018. They also happened to produce current starting quarterback for the New York Giants, Daniel Jones. Cutcliffe has been hailed as a quarterback guru due to this, along with his work with the Manning brothers.
2019 is where things begin to take a turn for the worse. Not only would the Blue Devils lose their star QB to the draft, but they also lost a plethora of the receiving corps. While this would lead to reduced expectations, I don’t think anyone envisioned Duke having as disastrous of a season as they’ve had. After starting out 4-2, Duke has dropped five games in a row, knocking them out of bowl eligibility. Much of the blame has been deservedly placed on offensive coordinator Zac Roper, who also calls plays for Duke. In their seven losses this season, the Blue Devils have been outscored 269-104. These losses includes an embarassing 43 point beatdown at the hands of a then 3-6 Syracuse team.
Don’t be fooled, Duke has talented athletes. While Roper isn’t living up to expectations, Cutcliffe has to receive some part of the blame. This team landed 4-star QB Luca Diamont, who passed up on an Alabama offer to come to Duke in 2020. Talents like these simply can’t be wasted. Despite a stretch of bowl appearances, the program seems to have reached a stalemate. Could we perhaps see a shakeup of the coaching staff in Durham? Cutcliffe recently signed an extension prior to this season that is good through 2023, so a buyout would be necessary. If Cutcliffe does ultimately get the boot, here are some potential replacements who could take over the sail.
Mike Norvell: The Memphis head coach has turned the Tigers into a threat in the American. Norvell has given a once afterthought of a program into one that has an aura of swagger surrounding it. He will be highly sought after soon by major power-five programs, so Duke would have to throw a lot of money at him.
Graham Harrell: The former star QB at Texas Tech is now serving as offensive coordinator at USC. There are coaching changes looming in Los Angeles, which could very well make Harrell a viable option to go after. Harrell could institute an air-raid system at Duke with incoming QB Diamont. This would certainly have to help with the current offensive struggles. Diamont would have a young and upcoming receiving corps to work with through this process.
Willie Fritz: The former Georgia Southern head coach has flipped Tulane football upside down. He led the Green Wave to their first bowl win since 2002 last year. He is a bit of an underground candidate, but don’t be surprised to hear his name floating around this offseason as major programs search for new coaches.
No matter whether or not Cutcliffe is the head coach at Duke in 2019, something needs to change. There is too much talent in this program to be wasted.
Image via: DukeReport.com
