Episode Details

David Cutcliffe, the 2013 National Coach of the Year who has earned both ACC and SEC Coach of the Year honors in a distinguished career that includes the mentoring of Super Bowl MVP quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning, was named Duke University’s 21st head football coach on December 15, 2007. Cutcliffe is 74-88 (.457) in 13 seasons at Duke and owns an overall head coaching ledger of 118-117 (.502). Cutcliffe’s 74 victories in 13 years with the Blue Devils are 64 more than the program’s total in the previous eight seasons (2000-07) combined and 55 more than the program’s total in the previous 11 seasons (1997-2007) combined. In addition to guiding the Blue Devil gridiron program, Cutcliffe serves on the American Football Coaches Association’s (AFCA) Board of Trustees. Duke’s return to prominence in college football has been spearheaded by Cutcliffe, who took over the program prior to the 2008 campaign after the Blue Devils had won just 10 total games in the previous eight seasons. Cutcliffe’s vision has come together in the last eight years with 57 victories, six bowl appearances, three bowl championships and the 2013 ACC Coastal Division championship. Highlights from the last seven years include the program’s first bowl victory since 1961, three consecutive bowl victories for the first time in program history, a pair of NFL Draft first round picks in Laken Tomlinson (2014) and Daniel Jones (2019), an eight-game winning streak in 2013 (Duke’s longest since 1941), the program’s first appearance in the BCS standings in 2013 and in the College Football Playoff rankings in 2014 and final national rankings in both polls in 2013 (22nd by USA Today/Coaches & 23rd by Associated Press) to mark Duke’s first showing in a final poll since 1962. Cutcliffe directed the 2013 Blue Devils to a school record four fourth-quarter victories as well as, for the first time since 1971, two wins over nationally-ranked opponents. A year later, Cutcliffe had Duke as high as No. 19 in both the USA Today and Associated Press polls, its highest AP ranking since November 12, 1994. Duke also won two or more games as a ranked team in consecutive years for the first time since the 1954-55 seasons.