I'm not totally in agreement on Cut. He kept losing his top assistants to better-funded programs and Duke didn't give him the money to hire equivalent assistants. There was a real drop in that area. Elko demanded and got significant salary upgrades for staff. No way people like Cushing and Feeley show up at Duke without that salary bump.
That said, I don't think Cut every fully regained the confidence of his players after the jump-pass fiasco at Carolina. I called it coaching malpractice at there time and I stand by that. Simply a horrible, horrible call
Also keep in mind a lot of these guys went through the COVID year, classes on-line, social isolation, empty stadiums. That has to have been a bonding situation. But an enormously stressful one.
I also think that made it very difficult for Duke to make a change after the 2020 season. I think Duke had to give him one more shot to see if he could turn it around.
All fair points. I raised the issue to highlight the character of the players, who are all that matter to me. Duke as an institution failed them, regardless of how you allocate responsibility among the Allen Building, athletic department admin, the head coach, and the remainder of the football coaching staff. The players rose above that collective failure to a striking degree, but those of us who truly love Duke football take such character for granted at our own peril as we move into this new era. This week's transfer wire has provided further ample evidence of just how far we still have to go, and the steep costs we'll face for choosing to start out behind the curve.
It was nice to have this article to read early in the morning. Troy is a really good team so Duke will have their hands full. My big hope is the team that takes the field in Birmingham is a healthy team. If all the players who have been out or limited by injuries are ready to go, I like our chances to come back with a victory.
Riley Leonard is out but he is the only one I’m aware of as unavailable to play in the bowl game.
These Duke players learned very early on about sticking together and fighting for each other. The guy before the midnight plane jumper guy essentially checked out on both his young staff and his players 2-4 years (depending on who you ask) before admin could locate the pink slip forms. I am proud of every one of these guys and the leadership character they've shown on and off the field.
I'm not totally in agreement on Cut. He kept losing his top assistants to better-funded programs and Duke didn't give him the money to hire equivalent assistants. There was a real drop in that area. Elko demanded and got significant salary upgrades for staff. No way people like Cushing and Feeley show up at Duke without that salary bump.
That said, I don't think Cut every fully regained the confidence of his players after the jump-pass fiasco at Carolina. I called it coaching malpractice at there time and I stand by that. Simply a horrible, horrible call
Also keep in mind a lot of these guys went through the COVID year, classes on-line, social isolation, empty stadiums. That has to have been a bonding situation. But an enormously stressful one.
I also think that made it very difficult for Duke to make a change after the 2020 season. I think Duke had to give him one more shot to see if he could turn it around.
All fair points. I raised the issue to highlight the character of the players, who are all that matter to me. Duke as an institution failed them, regardless of how you allocate responsibility among the Allen Building, athletic department admin, the head coach, and the remainder of the football coaching staff. The players rose above that collective failure to a striking degree, but those of us who truly love Duke football take such character for granted at our own peril as we move into this new era. This week's transfer wire has provided further ample evidence of just how far we still have to go, and the steep costs we'll face for choosing to start out behind the curve.
It was nice to have this article to read early in the morning. Troy is a really good team so Duke will have their hands full. My big hope is the team that takes the field in Birmingham is a healthy team. If all the players who have been out or limited by injuries are ready to go, I like our chances to come back with a victory.
Riley Leonard is out but he is the only one I’m aware of as unavailable to play in the bowl game.
These Duke players learned very early on about sticking together and fighting for each other. The guy before the midnight plane jumper guy essentially checked out on both his young staff and his players 2-4 years (depending on who you ask) before admin could locate the pink slip forms. I am proud of every one of these guys and the leadership character they've shown on and off the field.