Category: Coaching Staff

A recent rumor indicates what a lot of us expected, and some of us predicted before the season started, may be coming true. (Can I just add that my pre-season picks were pretty much on the money with the exception of how these games are being lost?) It is looking more and more likely that the David Cutcliffe era at Duke, which was the best era of my lifetime and the best era for a lot of the fans out there, will be coming to an end.

Pete Thamel over at Yahoo! Sports put some fuel on the fire, but this is something that has been lurking for a while. Cut’s contract remains good through the end of the 2022 season (it ends midway through 2023) and a series of blowout conference losses (discussed earlier this year here) aren’t likely to change that. The News & Observer has also had articles about retirement / changes this season.

Given the context of the last several years, and following another blowout conference loss, no one should be surprised by this situation. And, like I said previously, this is unfortunate. David Cutcliffe made the Blue Devils relevant in college football. This was the first time since 1988-1989 that Duke remained relevant for more than two seasons and the first time the Blue Devils ever made it to an ACC Championship Game. The four straight bowl games were a thing of beauty as were the six bowl games in seven years. I appreciate all the good that he’s done for the Blue Devils and that’s how I will remember the Cutcliffe era. I know I’ve been critical, but I mean what I say here.

Go Duke!

When Chris Hampton left Durham to return to Tulane at the end of the season, we knew that a new DB coach would be hired at some point. As time passed with no replacement, we weren’t real sure what was going on. It turns out that Coach Cutcliffe decided to do an internal overhaul in lieu of bringing in one new coach from outside of the family and keeping everything else the same. While he did bring in a new position coach, it was for the offensive side of the ball, not for the defensive unit.

The changes are as follows:

• Zac Roper – now deputy head coach and TE coach only (formerly OC and QB coach);
• Trooper Taylor – now associate head coach and DB coach (formerly WR coach);
• Re’quan Boyette – now co-OC and WR coach (formerly RB coach);
• Jeff Faris – now co-OC and QB coach (formerly TE coach and offensive recruiting coordinator);
• Greg Frey – now the offensive recruiting coordinator;
• Lanier Goethe – now the defensive recruiting coordinator;
• Kirk Benedict – now the special teams coordinator; and
• Calvin Magee – RB coach.

Magee is the only new hire. I’m excited about him coming on board because, as our friends at Duke FB Talk pointed out, he’s somewhat of a RB whisperer despite his TE bona fides. (If you haven’t listed to the latest Section 17 podcast, DO IT NOW. OMG, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!?!?!) While I am worried about Boyette taking over the WRs (more on that below), I think the RBs will be in good hands. I hope that the WRs don’t suffer because Trooper Taylor had them moving in the right direction.

What are we to make of these changes? Here are my thoughts (not in order of importance):

1. Zac Roper looks like a man who is running out of time.
   1. He started as special teams/RB coach, took over the TEs in 2013 when Boyette came on as RB coach and he then became the AHC/OC/QB coach in 2016.
   2. Cutcliffe took over the offense last season and has now demoted him down to just the TE coach.
   3. I would be worried if I were him. The special teams were pretty good under him and, despite that, Cutcliffe has asked someone else to coach that unit.
   4. Deputy head coach is a meaningless title. The players were clearly happy when Roper took a reduced role last season. This is another step down in what looks like a pretty rapid decline.
   5. Roper got a lot of rope and has come close to hanging himself with it.
2. I think we will be running the ball more.
   1. Boyette was a good RB at Duke. Boyette has coached many good RBs at Duke. Boyette will now help design the offense.
   2. Frey is putting a good OL together and snagged some good transfers. He is now the recruiting coordinator for the offense.
   3. These things all scream “RUN THE BALL.”
   4. Mataeo Durant has to be happy.
3. I am concerned about the WRs.
   1. I don’t know what to expect from Boyette as the WR coach.
   2. I like what he’s done with the RBs, but I don’t know if that will translate. The position group is older, so he can learn on the job without much downside to the team in the immediate future.
   3. Time will tell. Be patient.
4. I am not concerned about the secondary.
   1. Trooper will do well with the DBs.
   2. He coached DBs before and knows what he’s doing. He took over a mess at the WR position and got them rolling. I’m excited.
   3. His promotion to Associate Head Coach also indicates he will take on a bigger role in the day-to-day operations.
   4. You have to like that.
   5. Also, as his star rises, Roper’s declines. Just saying.
5. I think that Frey is going to be a big fixture for this team going forward for the reasons we discussed above.
6. I still don’t know how much of the offense will change.
   1. This is because Cut is Cut and may micro-manage.
   2. I’m optimistically cautious, if that makes sense.
   3. Cut should probably let the coaches coach and oversee operations. He needs to take a reduced role and function as CEO.

Last but not least, I think these moves were the result of pressure put on Cut. Here is what he said about them at the press conference announcing the changes

Someone told Cut that the status quo isn’t good enough and changes were necessary. Maybe not big changes, maybe not drastic changes. But changes. Why do I say this?

With Kevin White retiring, Cut has to know that doesn’t necessarily bode well for him. When Tom Butters retired and Alleva took over in 1998, Coach Goldsmith ran out of time. (In retrospect, this was a giant mistake (and looking back on it, I don’t understand why he didn’t get one more season at the time. I’d like to do a podcast about that with some folks later, so I won’t get into that now)).

Cut has to know that a new AD will decide his fate. And that can’t be good. He doesn’t have a decade-plus relationship with that person to rely on. Instead, he’ll be working with a new person who will be given the task of replacing both Cut and K. Yikes. And given that the seasons since 2015 have been generally mediocre including two disastrous campaigns in 2019 and 2020, he has to put a good product on the field in 2021. Hence the staff shakeup.

Finally, I’m not certain that Cut is done making changes. I expect more to come if Duke falls into the 4 to 6 wins range next year. Why? Like I said, Cut has to prove he deserves to keep his job. His contract only runs until 2022, so he doesn’t have a lot of leverage. Expect Cut to get aggressive. It’s his job that hangs in the balance.

Go Duke!

Following a big weekend filled with additions for the Blue Devils, Duke announced that head coach David Cutcliffe would be taking over the play-calling duties.

Offensive coordinator Zac Roper, who was much maligned after a less than stellar performance from the Blue Devils offense in his tenure, will remain on staff and coach the quarterbacks, but the responsibilities for directing the offense falls squarely on Cutcliffe’s shoulders.

New Quarterback inspired moved?

Over the weekend Duke landed highly sought after transfer quarterback Chase Brice who left National runner up Clemson and has served as Trevor Lawrence’s back up.

The prevailing thought is that Cutcliffe’s history as a quarterback guru helped steer Brice to Durham and perhaps this fact was the inspiration for Cutcliffe to dust off the coordinator hat and take over an offense which took several steps back this past season.

If you buy a new car chances are you don’t want your teenage kid behind the wheel.

And while a lot of the blame for the offense’s short comings fell on Roper, Cutcliffe, ever the loyalist to his staff, kept him on staff but is taking the keys to the car.

A Familiar Role

Cutcliffe led the offense at Tennessee where he famously coached Peyton Manning and helped the Volunteers win a National Title in 1998 with quarterback Tee Martin.

He then took the head coaching job at Ole Miss coaching Eli Manning and, after being fired for failing to bend to the wills of the boosters, accepted the offensive coordinator job at Notre Dame.

Cutcliffe was unable to coach the Irish following a health scare and after time away to recover returned to Tennessee as offensive coordinator before taking the job at Duke.

Weapons to Choose From

Cutcliffe, who said in a conference call that he has been missing and wanting to get back into the game management of the offense, has plenty of weapons.

The offensive line picked up some additions in the off season and return a lot of experienced players. The running back stable featuring Mataeo Durrant and Deon Jackson could be electric if healthy and the receiving corps has a lot of young talent who should give Brice a lot of reliable targets.

Time will tell whether Cutcliffe’s move to primary offensive play caller will pay dividends for the Blue Devils but it may be the change to maximize what is suddenly turning into an intriguing football season ahead for perhaps a run at the ACC Coastal title.