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B-well
12-15-2007, 11:33 PM
When I looked back through the Duke Football Yearbooks over the past twenty years of hiring and firing football coaches, the Strength and Conditioning Coach turned up as the only coach who was common to all programs.

Is there some connection between this and our football team being out-muscled, out-tackled, out-blocked and out-run, particularly in the late minutes of games?

Seems strange that head coaches and coordinators and position coaches come and go while this vital part of the program has had the same leadership throughout a period when we have been so miserable.

diablesseblu
12-16-2007, 12:36 AM
I have also had this same concern. We've all expended a lot of agita over these past few weeks worrying about the new football coach.

Have felt very strongly that a central premise in his demands should be complete freedom to select his own
S & C staff. This has been a fundamental weakness in Duke's athleticism in the football program.

There have to be changes in the personnel/approaches to this facet of the program.. Hopefully Coach C. will recognize this and fight for who/what he wants/needs.

Devil in the Blue Dress
12-16-2007, 12:56 AM
When I looked back through the Duke Football Yearbooks over the past twenty years of hiring and firing football coaches, the Strength and Conditioning Coach turned up as the only coach who was common to all programs.

Is there some connection between this and our football team being out-muscled, out-tackled, out-blocked and out-run, particularly in the late minutes of games?

Seems strange that head coaches and coordinators and position coaches come and go while this vital part of the program has had the same leadership throughout a period when we have been so miserable.

As one who has followed Duke football since the fifties when Duke was nationally ranked at times in football, I would observe that you have identified a coincidence, not a cause and effect relationship. The reasons for Duke's decline in football are far more complex than having the same strength and conditioning coach for twenty some odd years. Coach Falcone is, in fact, a second generation football coach at Duke who played under Bill Murray. His dad Carmine was an assistant under Coach Murray. As for long time assistant coaches, Fred Chatham and Rod Broadway also served for a long periods of time before each left a few years ago.

The decline of Duke's football fortunes began with the hiring of Douglas Knight as president of the university and a shift in the philosophy of what was important at Duke. Rather than striving for excellence in all areas, the shift was to seek excellence primarily in academic realms. Any success in athletics or other extra curriculars would be merely coincidental to the Duke experience. Support of the program by the university administration and faculty gradually declined for a number of years before accelerating during the past 10-15 years.

The announcement at today's press conference is the beginning change on Duke's campus. I look forward to what the future holds.

Bluedawg
12-16-2007, 01:23 AM
When I looked back through the Duke Football Yearbooks over the past twenty years of hiring and firing football coaches, the Strength and Conditioning Coach turned up as the only coach who was common to all programs.

Is there some connection between this and our football team being out-muscled, out-tackled, out-blocked and out-run, particularly in the late minutes of games?

Seems strange that head coaches and coordinators and position coaches come and go while this vital part of the program has had the same leadership throughout a period when we have been so miserable.

I've been pointing this out since roughly 2/3 of the way through the season. most recently on 11-16-2007 (http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/showpost.php?p=62976&postcount=163).


This opens a door to a question I've been pondering. Who hires the strength and conditioning coach? Is it the AD, the Head Coach? Duke's has been here since 1980 which means he was hired under the tenure of "Red" Wilson [1979 to 1982] and is now serving his 5th head coach.

I have questioned the team's strength and conditioning throughout this season. Are we looking at the wrong spot?

What I have found out is that the school hires the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach but the HC of the various sports can request their own Strength and Conditioning Coach.

I agree this is a problem with the team and hopefully Coach Cut will bring in his own just for football.

Duvall
12-16-2007, 01:35 AM
The decline of Duke's football fortunes began with the hiring of Douglas Knight as president of the university and a shift in the philosophy of what was important at Duke. Rather than striving for excellence in all areas, the shift was to seek excellence primarily in academic realms.

Well, I certainly hope that we put a stop to that.

B-well
12-16-2007, 03:18 PM
I have seen Duke play football over 200 times, including three bowl games - Rose, Orange and All-American.

Coach Carmine Falcone taught me wrestling and boxing.

He would be totally dismayed to see how our football players get pushed around, how many times tackles are broken, how many times running plays fail because our blockers are shoved back into a hole.

If you want to see the effects of a serious strength and conditioning effort by a Duke athlete, compare Gerald Henderson's performance this year to last year.

It is time for alll of us to get over blaming Douglas Knight and Tom Harp for the decline of Duke football - and surely academic acheivment doesn't have to always be the whipping boy. Stanford is a great example of a school with both strong athletic programs and strong academic programs.

jimsumner
12-16-2007, 03:34 PM
An alternative explanation is that Duke's recruiting woes leave them with players who start out at the bottom of the acceptable range in areas of strength. Even the best artists need raw materials of a certain quality.

Mike Corey
12-16-2007, 04:19 PM
Even the best artists need raw materials of a certain quality.

http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/warner_brothers/the_departed/jack_nicholson/thedeparted2.jpg

"I'm an ahtist. Gimme a freakin' tuba and I'll get ya somethin' out of it."

:)

Kidding aside, I don't think any harm would be done in reconsidering the strength, conditioning and nutrition programs currently in practice for Duke football.

Or Duke could follow--who was it, Boise State?--and encourage its players to start drinking more two percent (and otherwise untainted) milk to supplement the Blue Devils' workout routines.