Did you ever imagine a day when the head football coach at Duke would turn down the opportunity for the same job at Tennessee? Yet, here we are.
Even before Tennessee’s search for a head coach became a national punchline, it was thought that David Cutcliffe could be an option for the Vols. After athletic director John Currie‘s pursuit of Greg Schiano was scuttled, there was a growing sentiment that Cutcliffe was the man who could right the listing Vols football ship.
Monday night, Chris Low of ESPN.com reported that Cutcliffe won’t be riding into Knoxville on a white horse as he’s turned down the Vols’ overtures after the university reached out to him. Instead, he’ll remain with the Blue Devils despite deep, deep ties to the UT football program.
Cutcliffe spent two different stints with the Volunteers, the first from 1982-98 and the second in 2006-07.
The head coach at Duke since 2008, Cutcliffe has gone 58-67 in those ten seasons and led the Blue Devils to five bowl berths. In the 18 years prior to Cutcliffe’s arrival, the program won a total of 35 games. They also appeared in five bowl games in the previous 63 years before Cutcliffe’s arrival.