Duke has officially announced a two-year contract extension for head coach David Cutcliffe. The long-time Duke head coach now has a contract that will run through June 30, 2023.
“Coach Cutcliffe has an unprecedented record of success both on and off the field, and I am delighted that he will remain at Duke for at least another four years,” Duke University President Vincent E. Price said in a released statement. “His commitment to academic excellence and the personal growth of his student-athletes reflects our core values and sets an example for Duke’s peers.”
Cutcliffe is 67-72 in his 11 years as the head coach of the Blue Devils, but Duke is coming off a fifth winning season in the last six years. Duke has ended the last two seasons with a bowl victory and has won each of their three most recent bowl appearances in the last four years. Cutcliffe owns half of Duke’s all-time bowl victories. Under Cutcliffe, Duke has made at least one appearance in the AP Top 25 in four of the last six seasons and played for an ACC championship in 2013.
The extension comes a week after Duke’s starting quarterback from the 2018 season, Daniel Jones, was drafted with a top 10 pick by the New York Giants. Jones was the first Duke player drafted by an NFL team since 2015 and he became the highest draft pick from Durham since linebacker Mike Junkin was selected with the No. 5 pick by the Cleveland Browns in 1987.
Cutcliffe will turn 65 during the 2019 season. By the end of his contract, Cutcliffe will be 68 years of age. Odds are Cutcliffe will be thinking about retirement around that time, which means we should be a few years away from seeing Duke begin searching for a new head coach. For now, stability on the sideline is ensured for the Blue Devils.