The right coach for the job
Issue date: 1/10/08 Section: Editorial
Last update: 1/10/08 at 7:25 AM EST
Last update: 1/10/08 at 7:25 AM EST
For once, people have something to look forward to about Duke football.
Despite winning just 22 games in its past 13 seasons, the struggling team has instantly garnered a newfound legitimacy simply by hiring David Cutcliffe as Duke's new head football coach.
Cutcliffe-by all accounts a tremendous hire-comes to Duke with an impressive coaching resume. Cutcliffe served as a student assistant to the legendary former Alabama football coach Bear Bryant, spent well over a decade as an assistant and offensive coordinator at Tennessee and also has head coaching experience to his credit during a six-year stint at Mississippi from 1999 to 2004.
Though Cutcliffe has made a name for himself as one of the top offensive coordinators and quarterback gurus in all of college football-he has produced record-setting offenses and mentored such standout quarterbacks as Peyton and Eli Manning-perhaps the most important quality Cutcliffe will bring to Wallace Wade Stadium is his prior head coaching experience.
In November, just before former head football coach Ted Roof was fired, this editorial board called for Duke's next head coach to have experience as the leader of a program and an established track record of success, because the program under Roof seemed to lack strong and seasoned leadership.
In this regard, Roof and Cutcliffe appear to be polar opposites. Whereas Roof came to Duke with minimal experience as a coordinator and had never served as a head coach, Cutcliffe brings just the background Duke football so urgently needs.
As head coach at Mississippi, Cutcliffe compiled a 44-29 record and lead his teams to four victories in bowl games. He was also recognized for his coaching abilities with the 2003 Coach of the Year Award in the SEC, traditionally one of the nation's strongest football conferences.
The decision to higher Cutcliffe indicates that the University and the Department of Athletics are committed to reviving the Duke football program. We continue to hope, however, that Cutcliffe's salary will be in line with but not exceed averages around the ACC.
However, the program still faces persistent pressure from some corners to lower academic standards for future recruits. Members of the administration have said that academic standards will not be reduced, a stance this board has supported in the past. Coach Cutcliffe echoed these sentiments unequivocally, which is further evidence that he is the right man for the job. This board expects these commitments to be honored.
Cutcliffe seems to be a good fit at Duke, particularly since his coaching stint at Mississippi gave him much needed experience in turning around a slumping program. Even more auspiciously, his coaching staff has proven its ability to succeed together; five of the eight recently hired members of Cutcliffe's staff coached with him at Mississippi. With a substantial remodeling of Wallace Wade slated to get underway and an experienced, successful staff, it appears Duke could field a much more competitive team than any Duke football teams in recent memory.
Despite winning just 22 games in its past 13 seasons, the struggling team has instantly garnered a newfound legitimacy simply by hiring David Cutcliffe as Duke's new head football coach.
Cutcliffe-by all accounts a tremendous hire-comes to Duke with an impressive coaching resume. Cutcliffe served as a student assistant to the legendary former Alabama football coach Bear Bryant, spent well over a decade as an assistant and offensive coordinator at Tennessee and also has head coaching experience to his credit during a six-year stint at Mississippi from 1999 to 2004.
Though Cutcliffe has made a name for himself as one of the top offensive coordinators and quarterback gurus in all of college football-he has produced record-setting offenses and mentored such standout quarterbacks as Peyton and Eli Manning-perhaps the most important quality Cutcliffe will bring to Wallace Wade Stadium is his prior head coaching experience.
In November, just before former head football coach Ted Roof was fired, this editorial board called for Duke's next head coach to have experience as the leader of a program and an established track record of success, because the program under Roof seemed to lack strong and seasoned leadership.
In this regard, Roof and Cutcliffe appear to be polar opposites. Whereas Roof came to Duke with minimal experience as a coordinator and had never served as a head coach, Cutcliffe brings just the background Duke football so urgently needs.
As head coach at Mississippi, Cutcliffe compiled a 44-29 record and lead his teams to four victories in bowl games. He was also recognized for his coaching abilities with the 2003 Coach of the Year Award in the SEC, traditionally one of the nation's strongest football conferences.
The decision to higher Cutcliffe indicates that the University and the Department of Athletics are committed to reviving the Duke football program. We continue to hope, however, that Cutcliffe's salary will be in line with but not exceed averages around the ACC.
However, the program still faces persistent pressure from some corners to lower academic standards for future recruits. Members of the administration have said that academic standards will not be reduced, a stance this board has supported in the past. Coach Cutcliffe echoed these sentiments unequivocally, which is further evidence that he is the right man for the job. This board expects these commitments to be honored.
Cutcliffe seems to be a good fit at Duke, particularly since his coaching stint at Mississippi gave him much needed experience in turning around a slumping program. Even more auspiciously, his coaching staff has proven its ability to succeed together; five of the eight recently hired members of Cutcliffe's staff coached with him at Mississippi. With a substantial remodeling of Wallace Wade slated to get underway and an experienced, successful staff, it appears Duke could field a much more competitive team than any Duke football teams in recent memory.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
wayne
posted 1/11/08 @ 4:08 AM EST
I'm sure that you would support lowering academic standars if a world class cellist or composer wanted to attend Duke, so why not a world class football player ? It all depends on what you mean by lowering academic standards. (Continued…)
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