The Turf is Sometimes Browner

Of all the people who turned down the University of Tennessee head football coaching job, Duke coach, David Cutcliffe, was easily the most surprising. This, in that, yes, Cutcliffe is a former (x2) offensive coordinator at Tennessee/a favorite of many of the current and former (Peyton Manning, amongst them) Tennessee players. It appeared to be a natural combination..............................................................................................So, why did he turn it down? Reason number one, folks, was probably the pressure. Tennessee (a la most upper tier SEC schools) has zero tolerance for mediocrity, never mind for losing. A couple of 6-6/5-7 seasons and your gone. I mean, just look at the way that the school treated Phillip Fulmer. Fulmer (who also happens to be a close friend of Cutcliffe), in HIS 17 years at Tennessee, went 152-52 (nearly a 75% winning percentage). Even more impressive than that, though, the fellow went 98-34 in the SEC (74.2%). He led the Vols to six eastern division championships, two overall SEC championships, and, yes, a national title in 1998. He led his teams to 15 bowls, winning eight of them, and, yes, was nearly always a factor in the top 25 . Now, granted, he had two losing seasons in his final four but, still, that's a hell of an impressive resume, don't you think? Well, Tennessee evidently didn't think so. They canned him after the '08 season (hiring instead that piece of crap, Lane Kiffin). Maybe Cutcliffe thought back to all this and said, "Hm, I don't think so, fellows.".............................................................................................Of course, another possibility is that maybe he actually likes it at Duke. He certainly must like the direction that his team is heading. Duke went 5-7 this year (the last time that a Duke team won as many as 5 games was 1994) and, encouragingly, they return 17 starters next year. And, while they lost their starting quarterback, Thad Lewis, red-shirt sophomore, Sean Renfree, is more than ready/able to step in. The kid is going to be great, in my opinion. Add to that the fact that recruiting has really picked up under Cutcliffe and, yeah, maybe the situation at Duke isn't necessarily a bad one. Granted, Cutcliffe probably won't win a national championship at Duke (or even an ACC crown, for that matter). But 6-8 wins a year is probably doable. And, as opposed to Tennessee, where figures like that could get you terminated, he'll be a figging hero at Duke. Not a Krzyzewski, mind you, but close......................................................................................................P.S. As I stated, folks, recruiting for Duke football has significantly improved. While the 2010 class isn't as strong as last year's, still, a slew of impressive players have verbally committed; Takoby Cofield (the 14th ranked player in North Carolina), Kelby Brown (the 15th ranked), Joshua Snead (the 19th ranked), Jamal Wallace (the 24th ranked player in Virginia), Juwan Thompson (the 33rd ranked in talent ladened Georgia), and Laken Tomlinson (the 10th ranked in Illinois). These, folks, are players that Duke probably wouldn't have landed prior to Cutcliffe. It sure as hell seems to me like a win-win situation there.