Category: Duke in the NFL

Interview – Fred Goldsmith

Listen here.

First and foremost, big thanks to Troy Taylor from Totem Pole Nation for getting this set up. I can’t thank him enough for making this happen.

Former Duke football head coach Fred Goldsmith stopped by the podcast to talk about his early career in football, a stop at Rice and his time coaching the Blue Devils. We learned about a lot of great coaches that Coach Goldsmith worked with including Ken Hatfield, Chan Gailey, Mike Heimerdinger and Craig Bohl among others. During this long and informative discussion, we learn a lot about the challenges Coach Goldsmith faced after an amazing 1994 season, the number of players he got in the NFL and how he was close to getting Duke over the hump before he was let go after the 1998 season. I know you will enjoy listening to Coach Goldsmith tell some great stories about his time leading the Blue Devils.

We also talk about how, after the 1994 season, Coach Goldsmith was close to getting a lot of high-profile coaching jobs. You won’t believe where he almost ended up.

If you get a chance, you should check out his book, Comeback Coach. I bought it a few years back. It’s a quick and entertaining read.

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode.

Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments, on Mastodon, on Reddit, on Post, on Instagram, Spoutible, Bluesky or on Twitter.

As always, Go Duke!

The History of the David Cutcliffe Era – Part V, The Legacy

In part four of what was supposed to be a four part series on the David Cutcliffe era, I hinted that an additional part of the series would be forthcoming. As promised, I’ve added a fifth part that more fully discusses what Cutcliffe meant to Duke and how we, as Blue Devil fans, should remember his time in Durham. To discuss that legacy, I am going to riff on the Five Things I utilized for game recaps this past season.

So, with that in mind, let’s get to it!

  1. Bowl games. From 2012 until 2018, Coach Cutcliffe’s teams went to six bowl games and won three of them. Had it not been for the injuries in 2016, I think we see seven straight. Prior to his tenure, Duke had been to eight bowl games and won three of them – that’s the entire history of the program before Cutcliffe. Let that sink in for a minute. When the Blue Devils won the Pinstripe Bowl in 2015, it was the first time since 1960 that any Duke team won a bowl game. That’s a big deal. And I know some people may say that it’s easier to get to bowls now, so who cares about the Blue Devils going to six of them during seven seasons? Well, if it’s easier to get to bowl games and a team isn’t doing it regularly, it becomes a big deal once a coach shows a program it can be done and does it.
  2. Players in the NFL. I’m going to leave some guys out, and that isn’t intentional, but Sean Renfree, Ross Cockrell, Jamison Crowder, Laken Tomlinson, Daniel Jones, Chris Rumph, Victor Dimukeje, Noah Gray and Michael Carter were all drafted during Cutcliffe’s tenure. That doesn’t take into account the UDFAs that made it to the league and turned into significant contributors. Guys like Thad Lewis, Vincent Rey, Lucas Patrick, Matt Skura, Breon Borders and Thomas Hennessy. Ross Cockrell won a championship. Last Sunday, Duke had two guys playing to go the Super Bowl – Laken Tomlinson and Noah Gray. That’s a big deal. Especially for the Blue Devils.
  3. A division championship. Let’s just kick up our feet and remember how darned sweet that magical 2013 season was. Do we need to say anything else about how great it was that Duke played for the ACC Championship? Nope, I didn’t think so.
  4. Coaches. A lot of guys who played under Cutcliffe are now in the coaching ranks. Carlos Wray is running the DL at Crest High School. Takoby Cofield is a GA at ECU. Max McCaffrey is breaking clipboards and serving as the offensive coordinator at the University of Northern Colorado. Thad Lewis made up part of the coaching staff that saw the Bucs win a Super Bowl in 2021. Re’quan Boyette is the WR coach at ECU. Now, this isn’t a complete list and only includes former players under Cutcliffe as opposed to former coaches like Scottie Montgomery and Jim Knowles. There are a lot of former Blue Devils who will become major coaches in time. Just keep an eye out for that. When that occurs, Cutcliffe’s legacy will grow. It’s just a shame that we didn’t see a lot of these guys, and guys like Anthony Boone who tutors QBs, on staff after they graduated. That was a misstep by Cutcliffe that eventually came back to haunt him.
  5. Relevance. From 2012 until The Jump Pass, Duke was a relevant football program. For almost eight seasons, the Blue Devils were important nationally. They went to bowl games, won a Coastal, played in a conference championship game and put several players into the NFL. This program was relevant for an extended period of time in a way that it hadn’t been for too damn long. We can’t overlook just how important that was and how that has to be factored into the ultimate historical analysis of Cutcliffe. While the terrible conference record and sub-.500 win-loss record isn’t ideal, the fact that the program became relevant for an extended period of time under his watch cannot be forgotten. Given all the mess he inherited and had to unmake, it’s easier to understand why he ended with the win-loss record he did.

So, as promised, we are now done with the history of the Cutcliffe era. You can read part one here, part two here, part three here and part four here.

Let me know what you think about what I think in the comments or on Twitter.

Go Duke!

Duke in the NFL – 2021 Draft Recap

The first two days of the 2021 NFL draft didn’t see any Duke players come off the board. The final day, however, saw four, count them 1-2-3-4, Blue Devils get drafted. Leaving Durham for the NFL by way of the draft are Chris Rumph (4th, Chargers), Michael Carter (5th, Jets), Noah Gray (5th, Chiefs) and Victor “Big Vic” Dimukeje (6th, Cardinals). In addition, Deon Jackson, Mark Gilbert and Devery Hamilton signed undrafted fee agent deals and are headed to the Colts, the Steelers and the Raiders respectively. All told, seven players from last year’s team are going to the NFL. That’s a positive development.

Of the players who got drafted, I think we can all agree that Gray is in the best spot and is most likely to get to the playoffs and win a Super Bowl right away. If you disagree, I’d like to hear why. The thought on Rumph is he needs to put on some weight, but I expect him to make plays early because that’s how he plays. I also like Big Vic to come on strong towards the end of this season. He knows how to make plays and will do so if given the opportunity. As for Carter, he’ll be fine so long as he stays healthy. I’ll be interested if Deon and Mark make a roster. I think that Deon will, but Gilbert has a lot of health questions which: a) explain why he wasn’t drafted; and b) may make it harder for him to stay in the league. I want him to, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he has to grind it out for a few years before ending up in a Breon Borders situation. As for Hamilton, he’s going to be a project. It wouldn’t stun me if he gets playing time in a few years like Lucas Patrick and Matt Skura did, but he may also end up playing in Canada. We’ll have to see how it plays out.

My first reaction as the draft unfolded over the weekend was, “Man, that’s great! This is the highest number of draft picks since 1973. All this publicity will be great and kill a recruiting argument against Duke!” My second thought was, “How in the hell did Deon go undrafted?” It’s now Monday and I’m still befuddled. If someone can explain why he didn’t get his named called, I’d appreciate it. Not selecting Deon seems like an obvious miss. I know that RBs aren’t as highly valued as they used to be, but with his speed and ability to catch passes, he would have been a great fit in a place like Kansas City. Moving on – my third and final thought is that this doesn’t necessarily bode well for Cutcliffe’s tenure if the team struggles in 2021.

I haven’t looked at the roster to see who is leaving after the 2021 season and who is likely to get drafted (why change coaches if the talent pool is improving and more players are going to the pros?), but I can say the new AD is probably going to ask Cut why he went 5-7 and 2-9 over the last two seasons with a core that put seven players into the NFL. He is going to need to be ready to explain why he got so few wins out of so much talent over the last two seasons. If the losses start to pile up next year, I wouldn’t be surprised if a new AD isn’t as patient and makes a change to bring in his “own guy.” We all know that AD turnover can be the kiss of death for a coach on the hot seat and I think that, despite the good draft, the head coach’s seat may have gotten just a bit hotter.

That said, let’s hope for the best next season. I’m ready for the Blue Devils to get back to, and win, a bowl game. Go Duke!