My Take: 5 coaches for Duke to target

Duke's first-year athletics director Nina King was on the job two weeks before Mike Krzyzewski’s retirement was announced, and she’ll wrap up the calendar year hiring a new football coach.

A mutual separation between Duke and coach David Cutcliffe was announced Sunday afternoon, coming on the heels of the Blue Devils losing the final eight games of the season – all ACC games – and finishing in the bottom of the ACC.

Cutcliffe, who’s 67 years old, was Duke’s coach for 14 seasons, arriving after the program had eight wins in the previous five seasons and elevating the Blue Devils to a stretch of six bowl games in seven years.

But the program tumbled in recent seasons, and this season’s winless ACC trek – every other ACC team won at least two games – was apparently the final step toward Cutcliffe’s tenure ending.

For the first time since 2007, Duke is hiring a football coach.

Here are five coaches for the Blue Devils to consider, why they would make sense, and why they might not make sense:

Mike Elko, Texas A&M defensive coordinator

Age: 44

Regional/ACC ties: Former Wake Forest defensive coordinator (three seasons), former Richmond assistant (two)

Why it makes sense: In what’s turning into an era of dominant offenses across college football, with only a select few defenses standing out, ADs seemingly have to choose between grabbing an offensive mind to go along with the flow or trying to find a defensive mind who can halt those offenses.

This would obviously be the latter.

Elko’s defense is fourth in the country this season in scoring defense (15.9 points per game). After leaving Wake Forest for a one-year stint at Notre Dame, Elko has spent four seasons in College Station under Jimbo Fisher.

Elko has never been a head coach, though he wants to be one.

Why it might not happen: It’s a double-edged sword that Elko has never been a head coach.

Elko has been around good head coaches for his entire career, but King would have to feel comfortable enough handing the keys to the program over to him for this to work.

Also: Elko is in the elite group of Power 5 coordinators making more than $2 million. His company, based on the last reporting of assistant coaches/coordinators salaries by USA Today, is … Clemson’s two coordinators.

Cutcliffe’s reported salary for this past season was roughly $2.9 million; if Duke is on the hook for a buyout as part of the agreed-upon separation, it could limit the program’s ability to land a top-tier target.

Tony Elliott, Clemson offensive coordinator

Age: 42

Regional/ACC ties: Played at Clemson, assistant coach at South Carolina State, Furman and Clemson.

Why it makes sense: Elliott, like the next three names, comes from the offensive side of things.

Clemson’s offensive struggles this season aside, Elliott is one of the young up-and-coming assistants in college football. Taking into account that the Tigers’ offense hasn’t been good this season also means considering it’s his 11th year on staff with Clemson.

Simply put: Hiring somebody who’s been integral to Clemson’s rise to power in the ACC would be a shrewd move in trying to rebuild Duke’s program.

Why it might not happen: Elliott has seemingly been selective, and makes you think he’s waiting for the perfect job.

Whether or not that’s Duke … who knows?

The financial questions for Elko apply here: Elliott made $2 million this season, according to USA Today.

Josh Gattis, Michigan offensive coordinator

Age: 37

Regional/ACC ties: Durham native, played at Wake Forest, spent one season at UNC as a graduate assistant.

Why it makes sense: Bring Gattis home?

The Northern Durham High School alum is riding higher than ever, having just engineered his offense to 42 points against Ohio State to push Michigan over the hump against the Buckeyes.

He’s in his third season in Ann Arbor and is seemingly reaching his pinnacle as a coordinator. It’s been a meteoric rise, and Duke can give Gattis his first chance to build his own program.

Why it might not happen: Jim Harbaugh searched for so long for the right staff chemistry to get Michigan past Ohio State, it’s a safe bet he’s going to fight to keep this group together – regardless of what happens in this weeks’ Big Ten championship or a potential College Football Playoff bid.

And it’s not like Gattis is a guaranteed home run as a coach. He was co-offensive coordinator for one season at Alabama before his three seasons at Michigan – so with being on a meteoric rise, there’s some risk involved that Gattis has had success at places with nearly unlimited resources, and that might not translate to Duke.

Will Healy, Charlotte coach

Age: 36

Regional/ACC ties: Played at Richmond, assistant at Chattanooga, currently at Charlotte.

Why it makes sense: A young and energetic coach, and Duke would only need to make the trip down I-85 to get Healy.

Healy made an instant impact at Charlotte, both for getting the program to its first-ever bowl in his first season at the helm (2019). That was Charlotte’s fifth season as a full-fledged FBS program, and the excitement was captured in videos of Healy dancing in “Club Lit” in Charlotte.

Why it might not happen: Healy won seven games in his first season at Charlotte – and has won seven games in the two seasons since.

Granted, the 49ers only played six games last season because of the pandemic. The season-opening win over Duke was the program’s first-ever win against a Power 5 team and Charlotte was 4-2 with a 2-0 start in Conference USA play this season.

But Charlotte lost five of its last six games to miss out on a possible bowl, with those five losses coming by an average of 22.8 points.

With the third season a benchmark for when a coach is supposed to hit his stride, Healy’s program seemingly took a step backward.

Jeff Monken, Army coach

Age: 54

Regional/ACC ties: Former assistant at Navy, former assistant and head coach at Georgia Southern.

Why it makes sense: If Duke isn’t going to recruit on the same plane as its ACC peers – and, at least in the short term, it isn’t – then the Blue Devils need someone who can level the playing field.

There isn’t a better option than the coach who’s won 51 games in the last five-plus seasons running the triple-option at Army.

Monken isn’t the sexiest name on this list and is the oldest coach by 10 years, but he probably represents the surest bet to install a winning program at Duke.

And how could you not love a disciple of Paul Johnson bringing the triple-option back to the ACC’s Coastal Division?

(you can at least rest assured that six other programs in the Coastal wouldn’t be fond of this move)

Why it might not happen: Age would be a factor here. Does King want to bring in an up-and-comer who’s got the potential to spend 15-20 years in Durham? Or does she opt for the safer route?

Monken is the safer route – all you’d be evaluating is whether Duke could win in the ACC with such a unique offense.