The Duke Blue Devils basketball team is not the only team in their athletics program going through some significant changes. Just as the men’s basketball program moves from Coach K after many years, the Duke football program will proceed to its first College Football Season without its long-time head coach David Cutcliffe.
Cutcliffe had developed the Blue Devils into a football program that would contend for a yearly postseason bowl game. For the past three seasons, however, the Blue Devils could not catch up to the other programs getting better through recruiting.
Duke football went from going to a bowl game six times in seven years from 2012 to 2018 to going a combined 10-25 over the past three seasons.
It was clear Cutcliffe could not elevate the program anymore, and it was time to move on. The Blue Devils hired Texas A&M Aggies defensive coordinator to turn the program, which has talent, into a bowl contender.
The Blue Devils are going to the 2022 season with serious doubts about being a competitor in the Coastal Division. They are also undergoing significant changes on both sides of the ball.