The Chronicle

Issue date: 1/23/08 Section: Football
Last update: 1/23/08 at 9:32 AM EST

Media Credit: Chase Olivieri New head coach David Cutcliffe has hired his staff and is looking forward to the start of the 2008 season.

With individual workouts and preparation for spring practice underway, David Cutcliffe just recently finished his first month as Duke's new head football coach. Head football beat writer Matthew Iles sat down with Cutcliffe to talk about why he chose Duke, how Duke compares to his previous coaching jobs and his take on academics versus athletics.

Matthew Iles: What was your first impression of Duke?

David Cutcliffe: I got here really early in the morning, prior to anybody waking up on campus. There were a few custodial people around, but I basically took my own tour. I was just impressed with the cleanliness of the stadium, and then I started walking the campus. I would encourage the students to maintain this pride.... There was no trash. That's a responsibility that we have. That's one of my pet peeves. [We need] to keep things as they should be.... I just felt like I was in a storied place.

MI: How does it compare so far to your first head coaching job at Ole Miss?

DC: The first time around I was prepared, and I had a plan. We executed that plan well, but I really had to grab the staff much quicker and probably didn't have as extensive a plan as to who I wanted on the staff. This time around I hand-picked these guys, and I could not be more thrilled with this staff. Plus, we're actually further along-a lot of people will find this surprising-this is a much finer facility, and we're much further along than at Ole Miss when we started.

MI: After leaving Ole Miss, you went back for your second stint as the offensive coordinator job at Tennessee. But were you chomping at the bit to get back into the head coaching seat?

DC: That was the only assistant coaching job that I would have agreed to have taken. They knew that I was looking for another opportunity. The thing people need to realize is that I had other opportunities to go places as a head coach that I just wasn't interested in. I knew it was going to be the one where it was the right atmosphere and the right people. Everything about Duke was right for me.

MI: What was it about Scottie Montgomery, who was already Duke's wide receiver coach, that made you decide to hire him onto your staff as well?

Continued...

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