David Cutcliffe Will Call Plays For Duke This Year

Head coach takes over running offense

Duke head coach David Cutcliffe will call plays for the Blue Devils offense next season. Cutcliffe made the announcement during his signing day conference call. In discussing changes to his coaching staff, Cutcliffe first introduced new offensive line coach Greg Frey.

“He’s going to bring a physicality to our front,” Cutcliffe said of Frey. “He’s what I call an O-line guy. That’s just what he does. … He’s going to help us in the run game. There’s no question he brings some new thoughts and some differences of approach.”

The Cutcliffe dropped the bombshell.

Duke’s offense struggled last season under coordinator Zac Roper. The Blue Devils failed to move the ball consistently, often having long strings of three-and-out drives. An ill-advised trick play at the end of the UNC game was intercepted, costing the Blue Devils a chance to score a potential game-winning touchdown. Duke had previously run the play against UNC defensive coordinator Jay Bateman, a few years earlier, when he was coordinator at Army. Cutcliffe will return to playcalling for the first time since 2007, at Tennessee.

“The other change is I’m going to actually go through the transition myself,” Cutcliffe said. “Obviously I’m going to remain head coach, but I am going to take over running the offense. I’m going to be the playcaller. I’m going to spend an inordinate amount of time … I am going to be a little less accessible. You guys (the media) don’t know me and how I work when I’m running an offense. So I’m diving into that role, already in it. It’s going to be fun for me. It’s exciting.”