In a day of seismic news on the college football landscape, the official exit of Duke University head coach David Cutcliffe doesn't generate the reverberations of a post being filled at University of Southern California and vacated at Oklahoma.
But Cutcliffe's departure signals the loss of an esteemed veteran of the game, and it also brings about yet another Power-5 opening.
Yes, only Cutcliffe and Steve Spurrier – at least in modern-era college football – are responsible for much of any success for the Blue Devils, but the program is not without resources, in a fairly open Atlantic Coast Conference and in a region known for producing football talent plus with easy travel expanding the Duke recruiting footprint.
Now, Duke is in a state of transition in its athletics department. Athletics director Nina King, a veteran of the department, nonetheless is less than eight months sitting in the lead chair.
Too, Blue Devils basketball – the school's signature sport – is in the process of sending off Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski, who's retiring at season's end and being replaced by former Duke national title-winning player, Jon Scheyer.
Part of the Research Triangle, Durham's population hovers around 270,000, per online data; the Triangle – Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh and their accompanying universities of UNC, Duke and N.C. State – boasts a combined population of nearly 2.1 million.
It's a big market, a growing market and is more than just Tobacco Road basketball.
Let's dive in to possible replacements for Cutcliffe, Duke's only coach to ever record a 10-win season and responsible for the Blue Devils' single berth in the ACC Championship game eight years ago.
MARCUS FREEMAN, NOTRE DAME DC: A 2020 Broyles Award finalist and who's teamed with Tommy Rees to give Notre Dame two of college football's best – and younger – coordinators, Freeman elicited interest a year ago from Illinois for the head coaching job and was an in-demand commodity on the coordinator market last year.
His work as understudy to Jim Tressel, Luke Fickell and now Brian Kelly, the Irish's all-time winningest coach, has Freeman poised to become a head coach, likely sooner than later. (The same could and should be said for Rees).
It's also impossible not to note that the buttoned-down, players'-coach Freeman, who will turn 36 in January, has emerged as a recruiting dynamo – first at Cincinnati and even more so at Notre Dame.
Looking at the immediate dynamics in the Research Triangle, UNC coach Mack Brown is 70 and N.C. State coach Dave Doeren turns 50 this week – meaning the Blue Devils may elect to prioritize a surging young assistant such as Freeman.
JEFF MONKEN, ARMY HC: The immediate notion that Monken only wants to run an option offense just doesn't fly with those who best know the veteran coach; Monken rather tailors his system to his available personnel – and he's done so quite successfully at first Georgia Southern and now West Point.
Fresh off a convincing win Saturday against Liberty, Monken's Black Knights teams have won eight or more games in five of his past six seasons atop the Army program.
Two stints at Georgia Southern, as well as Georgia Tech, also give Monken some strong ties in the South.
TONY ELLIOTT, CLEMSON OC: Yes, with a new starting quarterback and a rebuilt offensive line, Clemson has had some offensive struggles this season, but Elliott has been a candidate of interest already this cycle at TCU. He's also been linked to both the Auburn and Tennessee jobs that were vacated in the last cycle.
Plus, Elliott is steeped in ACC experience and has recruited the region for years for the Tigers. There is much to like about Elliott's potential at Duke.
SHAWN CLARK, APPALACHIAN STATE HC: In just two years, his first two years as a head coach, Clark has guided the Mountaineers to 20 wins and a berth in this week's SunBelt Conference title bout opposite Louisiana. Clark has been at AppState since 2016 and he also spent his playing career at the school in Boone, N.C., from 1994-98.
DAN LANNING, GEORGIA DC: Like Freeman, Lanning is a young, 35-year-old defensive signal-caller on a fast track. He's already worked under Nick Saban at Alabama and alongside and for Kirby Smart since 2018 at Georgia. The Bulldogs' defense this year is widely considered the best in college football and is the anchor on top-ranked Georgia's team that has overwhelming odds to advance into next month's College Football Playoff – after it faces Alabama this weekend for the SEC title.
Lanning has experience at Pittsburgh, Arizona State, Alabama, Memphis, Sam Houston State and Georgia, gaining valuable experience from a diverse variety of viewpoints and coaching styles.
MIKE ELKO, TEXAS A&M DC: A Penn graduate with previous stints at his alma mater, as well as noted academic institutions Fordham, Richmond, Wake Forest and Notre Dame, Elko's a Dave Clawson disciple who understands well the ACC. His three years as Wake's defensive coordinator, as well as the 2017 season at Notre Dame, provides a foundation of deep experience against ACC foes; three seasons in the league and five more games against ACC foes in 2017.
As always, we'll keep you posted as this one progresses on The Scoop.