Cutcliffe Praise From Mississippi

David Cutcliffe, as you may remember, did a solid job at Ole Miss before the school fired him after one sub-par season.

He left an impression though, not least of all with columnist Rick Cleveland, who has kept up with his progress at Duke.

He’s still impressed:

I thought [firing Cutcliffe] was a mistake at the time – and still believe it was. Besides his winning record, Cutcliffe ran an honest, clean program that graduated players at a high rate without a hint of NCAA problems. The Rebels are on their fourth head coach in the 13 volatile years since.

The victory over North Carolina makes Cutcliffe 56-61 overall at Duke, a record that sounds infinitely better when you know the football culture he inherited at Durham, which was a running joke in the ACC. More to the point, he is 35-21 over his last four-plus seasons. Duke is no longer a football joke.”

It’s really hackneyed at this point to talk about a coach’s values but Cutcliffe clearly has his and doesn’t compromise them. Duke is incredibly lucky to have him.