College football hot seat: 10 head coaches feeling the heat in 2021
9. David Cutcliffe (Duke)
David Cutcliffe has done too much and is too good a fit for Duke, but he probably cannot afford a repeat of last year.
To be honest, I do not believe Cutcliffe’s seat is that warm, but his team needs to show improvement after a 2-9 record in 2020 was a return to the bad old days of Duke football.
light. Related Story. Duke Football: 2020 Report card for Blue Devils
Cutcliffe is undoubtedly Duke’s best football coach over the last 50 years after guiding the Blue Devils to six bowl games since taking over in 2008 along with a division title in 2013. That same year, they reached 10 wins and followed that with a nine-win season in 2014. However, he has never reached those heights since then, and the Blue Devils have regressed in the last couple of seasons.
Perhaps most importantly, long-time Duke athletic director Kevin White retired this offseason, leaving Cutcliffe without his biggest supporter.
Duke will need to improve in several areas going into next season, starting with the quarterback position, but if recent product Daniel Jones is any indication, Cutcliffe might still be the old quarterback whisperer that he built his reputation upon.