David Cutcliffe
David Cutcliffe went 121–126 as a head coach, 1998–2021, at Ole Miss and Duke. Share
- Record
- 121–126 career
- Seasons
- 21
- Schools
- 2
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Born
- Sep 16, 1954
- Alma mater
- Alabama
- Best season
- 2003 10–3, No. 13
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Ole Miss bowl game | 1–0 | Independence Bowl W | |||
| 1999 | Ole Miss | 8–4 | 3rd (Western) | Independence Bowl W | 22 | |
| 2000 | Ole Miss | 7–5 | 3rd (Western) | Music City Bowl L | ||
| 2001 | Ole Miss | 7–4 | 5th (Western) | |||
| 2002 | Ole Miss | 7–6 | 4th (Western) | Independence Bowl W | ||
| 2003 | Ole Miss | 10–3 | T–1st (Western) | Cotton Bowl W | 13 | |
| 2004 | Ole Miss | 4–7 | 3rd (Western) | |||
| 2005–07: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 2008 | Duke | 4–8 | 6th (Coastal) | |||
| 2009 | Duke | 5–7 | 5th (Coastal) | |||
| 2010 | Duke | 3–9 | T–5th (Coastal) | |||
| 2011 | Duke | 3–9 | 6th (Coastal) | |||
| 2012 | Duke | 6–7 | T–5th (Coastal) | Belk Bowl L | ||
| 2013 | Duke | 10–4 | 1st (Coastal) | Chick-fil-A Bowl L | 23 | |
| 2014 | Duke | 9–4 | 2nd (Coastal) | Sun Bowl L | ||
| 2015 | Duke | 8–5 | T–4th (Coastal) | Pinstripe Bowl W | ||
| 2016 | Duke | 4–8 | T–6th (Coastal) | |||
| 2017 | Duke | 7–6 | T–4th (Coastal) | Quick Lane Bowl W | ||
| 2018 | Duke | 8–5 | 6th (Coastal) | Independence Bowl W | ||
| 2019 | Duke | 5–7 | 6th (Coastal) | |||
| 2020 | Duke | 2–9 | T–14th | |||
| 2021 | Duke | 3–9 | 7th (Coastal) | |||
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table.
Players he coached
Rufus FrenchConsensus All‑American, 1998
David Helton2014 William V. Campbell Trophy- Jonathan Nichols2003 Lou Groza Award
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 48 | 11–37 | 23% |
| Against top-10 teams | 14 | 1–13 | 7% |
| Against rivals | 101 | 45–56 | 45% |
| Conference games | 162 | 60–102 | 37% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 11 | 7–4 | 64% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 91 | 44–47 | 48% |
| At home | 130 | 69–61 | 53% |
| On the road | 104 | 45–59 | 43% |
| At neutral sites | 13 | 7–6 | 54% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 112 | 75–37 | 67% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 135 | 46–89 | 34% |
His own 247 games on file, 1998–2021, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Johnson 2008–2018 | 4–7 | Georgia Tech | 11 | |
| Justin Fuente 2012–2021 | 3–5 | Memphis, Virginia Tech | 8 | |
| Frank Beamer 2008–2015 | 2–6 | Virginia Tech | 8 | |
| Larry Fedora 2012–2018 | 5–2 | North Carolina | 7 | |
| Dave Clawson 2014–2021 | 3–4 | Wake Forest | 7 | |
| Nick Saban 2000–2019 | 1–6 | LSU, Alabama | 7 | |
| Mike London 2010–2015 | 4–2 | Virginia | 6 | |
| Houston Nutt 1999–2004 | 3–3 | Arkansas | 6 | |
| Pat Fitzgerald 2008–2021 | 3–3 | Northwestern | 6 | |
| Tommy Tuberville 1999–2004 | 2–4 | Auburn | 6 |
David Cutcliffe’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Virginiaseries | 14 | 6–8 |
| Georgia Techseries | 14 | 5–9 |
| North Carolinaseries | 14 | 5–9 |
| Virginia Techseries | 14 | 3–11 |
| Miamiseries | 14 | 3–11 |
| Wake Forestseries | 13 | 5–8 |
| Alabamaseries | 8 | 2–6 |
| Pittsburghseries | 8 | 1–7 |
National coaching awards
The awards- 2013 Duke: Bobby Dodd Award and Walter Camp Coach
- 1998 Tennessee: Broyles Award
National title staffs
Every title staff- Won a national title on Tennessee’s 1998 staff (offensive coordinator, assistant head coach, quarterbacks, part of the season) · the staff · source
The champions’ staffs from 1990 on, as the schools listed them that season: Staff lists: Drew Hoover’s how-many-rings (MIT), from the schools’ media guides and staff pages. Roles as the source words them.
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976–79 | Banks HS (AL) high school | Assistant coach | |
| 1980–81 | Banks HS (AL) high school | Head coach | |
| 1982 | Tennessee | Assistant coach | |
| 1983–88 | Tennessee | Tight ends coach | |
| 1989 | Tennessee | Running backs coach | |
| 1990–91 | Tennessee | Quarterbacks coach | |
| 1992 | Tennessee | Passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| 1993–94 | Tennessee | Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| 1995–98 | Tennessee | Assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| 1998–2004 | Ole Miss | Head coach | |
| 2006–07 | Tennessee | Assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| 2008–21 | Duke | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Johnny MajorsTennessee
- Phillip FulmerTennessee
Assistants who became head coaches
- Greg KnoxMississippi State, Florida
- Kurt RoperColorado
- Matt LukeOle Miss
- Mike MacIntyreSan José State, Colorado, Florida International
- Jim KnowlesCornell
- Jay HopsonSouthern Miss, Alcorn State
- Scottie MontgomeryEast Carolina
- Jeff FarisAustin Peay
- Gerad ParkerPurdue, Troy
- Trooper TaylorDuke
Worked under (2)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnny Majors | Tennessee | 1982–92 | 1982: assistant coach; 1983–88: tight ends coach; 1989: running backs coach; 1990–91: quarterbacks coach; 1992: passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Phillip Fulmer | Tennessee | 1992–2007 | 1992: passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach; 1993–94: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach; 1995–2007: assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (10)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greg Knox | Ole Miss, 1998: wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator | Mississippi State, Florida | |
| Kurt Roper | Ole Miss, 1999–2001: quarterbacks coach; 2002–04: quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator; Duke, 2008–13: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Colorado | |
| Matt Luke | Ole Miss, 1999: graduate assistant; 2002–04: offensive line and tight ends coach; Duke, 2008–11: co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach | Ole Miss | |
| Mike MacIntyre | Ole Miss, 1999–2000: wide receivers coach; 2001–02: defensive backs coach; Duke, 2008–09: defensive coordinator | San José State, Colorado, Florida International | |
| Jim Knowles | Ole Miss, 2003: linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator; Duke, 2010–11: defensive coordinator and safeties coach; 2012–14: defensive coordinator; 2015–17: defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach | Cornell | |
| Jay Hopson | Ole Miss, 2004: defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator | Southern Miss, Alcorn State | |
| Scottie Montgomery | Duke, 2008–09: wide receivers coach; 2013: assistant head coach, offensive coordinator, passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach; 2014–15: assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | East Carolina | |
| Jeff Faris | Duke, 2012–13: graduate assistant; 2014–16: wide receivers coach; 2017: wide receivers coach and ORC; 2018–20: tight ends coach and ORC; 2021: co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Austin Peay | |
| Gerad Parker | Duke, 2017: offensive assistant; 2018: wide receivers coach | Purdue, Troy | |
| Trooper Taylor | Duke, 2019–20: wide receivers coach; 2021: assistant head coach and cornerbacks coach | Duke |
Other assistants under him (16)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Art Kaufman | Ole Miss, 1998–2000: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| Derek Jones | Ole Miss, 1998–99: graduate assistant; Duke, 2008–14: defensive backs coach and assistant special teams; 2015–17: cornerbacks coach and assistant special teams; 2018–19: assistant head coach and defensive backs coach | |
| Eddie Gran | Ole Miss, 1998: special teams and running backs coach | |
| John Lovett | Ole Miss, 1998: defensive backs coach | |
| Noel Mazzone | Ole Miss, 1998: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Marion Hobby | Ole Miss, 1999–2004: defensive line coach; Duke, 2008–10: defensive coordinator and defensive line coach | |
| John Latina | Ole Miss, 2000–04: offensive coordinator | |
| Don Lindsey | Ole Miss, 2001: defensive coordinator | |
| Zac Roper | Ole Miss, 2001–04: graduate assistant; Duke, 2008–12: special teams coordinator and running backs coach; 2013–15: special teams coordinator and tight ends coach; 2016–20: assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach; 2021: tight ends coach | |
| Chuck Driesbach | Ole Miss, 2002–04: defensive coordinator | |
| Matt Lubick | Duke, 2010–12: wide receivers coach | |
| Matt Guerrieri | Duke, 2012–14: graduate assistant; 2015–17: safeties coach; 2018–21: co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach | |
| Re’quan Boyette | Duke, 2012: graduate assistant; 2013–20: running backs coach; 2021: co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach | |
| Ben Albert | Duke, 2016–17: defensive line coach; 2018–21: co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach | |
| Chris Hampton | Duke, 2020: defensive backs coach | |
| Calvin Magee | Duke, 2021: running backs coach |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.
How he coached
Cutcliffe’s teams went for it on 24% of fourth downs and on 38% of those where the model said go for it, passed on 52% of plays and took 22.7 seconds a play, 2004–2021.
| Season | School | Went for it on fourth | When the model said go | Pass rate | Seconds a play | EPA a play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 11 g | Ole Miss | 12 of 102 12% | 17% | 46% | 19.9 | −0.12 | |
| 2008 12 g | Duke | 21 of 111 19% | 30% | 51% | 24.0 | −0.15 | |
| 2009 12 g | Duke | 24 of 104 23% | 38% | 63% | 24.4 | −0.06 | |
| 2010 12 g | Duke | 20 of 98 20% | 31% | 59% | 22.4 | −0.06 | |
| 2011 12 g | Duke | 36 of 101 36% | 53% | 59% | 25.1 | −0.02 | |
| 2012 13 g | Duke | 28 of 115 24% | 38% | 57% | 22.3 | 0.00 | |
| 2013 14 g | Duke | 23 of 109 21% | 31% | 47% | 21.3 | +0.07 | |
| 2014 13 g | Duke | 29 of 106 27% | 42% | 50% | 23.1 | +0.05 | |
| 2015 13 g | Duke | 22 of 114 19% | 35% | 51% | 21.1 | +0.03 | |
| 2016 11 g | Duke | 23 of 90 26% | 39% | 53% | 23.7 | +0.01 | |
| 2017 13 g | Duke | 27 of 116 23% | 41% | 49% | 23.6 | −0.04 | |
| 2018 13 g | Duke | 28 of 112 25% | 48% | 53% | 22.8 | 0.00 | |
| 2019 12 g | Duke | 33 of 116 28% | 48% | 47% | 23.3 | −0.14 | |
| 2020 10 g | Duke | 22 of 82 27% | 41% | 51% | 22.5 | −0.10 | |
| 2021 12 g | Duke | 29 of 109 27% | 40% | 47% | 21.9 | +0.01 | |
| All 183 g | 377 of 1585 24% | 38% | 52% | 22.7 | −0.03 |
His seasons as a head coach from 2004 on, from ESPN’s play by play: fourth downs where he went for it out of every fourth-down decision; how often he went when SportsDataverse’s fourth-down model said going for it was the better call; the share of his offense’s plays that were passes; seconds of game clock per offensive play (lower is faster); and expected points added per offensive play (EPA, a measure of how much each play moved the offense toward points). The season in progress counts its games so far. SportsDataverse’s coach tendencies, from ESPN’s play by play; the EPA and the fourth-down model are SportsDataverse’s.