Duke Offers Cutcliffe Head Coaching Position
Dec 13th, 2007 by Brinson
It’s probably not going to be the front page story of December 13, 2007 - this little thing about some Mitchell fella and androids playing baseball, or something will probably trump it - but in the state of Tennessee, around the greater Raleigh/Durham area and in New Jersey, the news that Duke University offered David Cutcliffe the head coaching position with the football team will be red hot.
(And we also realize that Brahsome isn’t your one stop shop for breaking athletic news - yes, we usually post recent news with white hot sarcastic commentary - but that doesn’t mean we don’t know people.)
But in this case, we have it on a very reliable source that a decision to offer Cutcliffe the job was reached around 3-4 p.m. on Thursday. Financial terms of the deal have not been reached yet, but it’s apparent that the Duke Athletic Department is fully committed to ponying up and getting a legitimate coach in Durham. Recent success from Wake Forest both in the ACC and nationally has sparked some hot local debate about Duke’s doormat status in the conference and sent administrators and boosters on a manhunt for someone that can not only bring in talent but coach it.
First of all, Cutcliffe should accept; Duke wouldn’t have made the offer if they didn’t think he would and it’s a perfect situation for him. Durham is barely five hours from Knoxville and while the Devils football “program” presents a tremendous rebuilding challenge, the pressure that Cutcliffe will face in Durham is nothing compared to the expectations that surrounded him in Ole Miss, not to mention the vast, vast difference in competition level between the SEC and ACC (we’re ACC guys but it’s true, sorry). Don’t forget that Cutcliffe’s record in rebuilding that Ole Miss program, prior to conflicting with administrators about who was going to stay on board in terms of his staff, was nothing short of stellar. The knocks on him are a) age, b) health and c) personality. First off, he’s 54, which is older, but not ancient (and certainly not as old as say, Lou Holtz…hint, hint). Secondly, yes, he had triple bypass surgery, but if Charlie Weis, Mark Mangino and Ralph Freidgen can man sidelines…well, “Cutty” is just fine.
Finally, the issue of personality. Experience isn’t an issue, since he tied LSU for first in the SEC West in 2003 while in charge of Ole Miss, so people hang their hat on his inability to bring in good athletes. Unfortunately for those critics, his biggest supporters are Peyton and Eli Freaking Manning. The Manning family. The DirecTV peddling, laser rocket arm owning, greatest quarterback family of all time. That takes any worries we would have about personality away permanently. Don’t forget that Cutcliffe made Heath Shuler look good (turns out he was not) and has Erik Ainge in line for some pretty big cash when he turns pro.
Now granted, he has to accept it, but again, our sources think he will, based on multiple interviews at the school and the administration’s willingness to pony up cash. And when he does? Big score for the Dookies. And how safe is Philly Fulmer’s job again?
[...] to some inside alumni sources, it might actually turn out to be the best candidate of all: Tennessee OC David Cutcliffe, also known as the guy whose completely unjustified termination at Ole Miss at least gave us the [...]
[...] to some inside alumni sources, it might actually turn out to be the best candidate of all: Tennessee OC David Cutcliffe, also known as the guy whose completely unjustified termination at Ole Miss at least gave us the [...]
[...] job of being Chernobyl firefighter and volunteered for dangerous People’s glory! Meaning that he’s taken the job of Duke head coach, leaving Tennessee looking for an offensive coordinator. Joel’s [...]