Duke Football Staff Watch 2021

[dm9e24]

Your post would make it sound like he has struggled at each of these schools and keeps transferring because he isn't good enough. That would be pretty darn inaccurate regarding JT Daniels career.

As a true freshman, who reclassified and graduated a year early from high school, he was the starter for USC. He had a very nice season and seemed on a fast track to the NFL but tore his ACL in the first game of his soph campaign, ruining that season.

He the transferred to UGA, one of the few schools in the country that would be considered a step up in quality from USC.

He and Stetson Bennett have battled for two yeas over the starting QB job at UGA. Daniels won it late last year and then won it again at the start of this season. He started the first 3 games of the year before getting hurt again, allowing Bennett to step into the starting job.

So, we are talking about a dude who has won starting jobs at both USC and UGA and put up strong stats in both places. That said, everyone says the injuries have impacted his abilities and it is unclear if he will ever achieve the stardom that was predicted when he was the #1 recruit in the nation as a high schooler. Will be interesting to see where JT ends up. I've seen lots of talk about Oregon, where Georgia's former DC is now the head coach.

Read your post. I was quoting you almost to the word. I understand how good Daniels is. Followed him out of high school to USC. But it is a fact that his next stop will be his third school. Hopefully he will find the right program, earn a starting position, have a healthy, injury free year and get to experience a major bowl or more.

As you have said, it won't be at Duke.

[RocBball11]

https://mobile.twitter.com/BruceFeld...97977382928387

[OldPhiKap]

https://mobile.twitter.com/BruceFeld...97977382928387

“SOURCE: Miami DL coach Jess Simpson, the former D-line coach of the Atlanta Falcons, is expected to become the new defensive line coach at Duke.”

Works for me. Good find, thanks!


(btw, it may help to add a quote to posts in the future because they tend not to like naked links here. But welcome to DBR and look forward to more contributions!)

[CrazyNotCrazie]

“SOURCE: Miami DL coach Jess Simpson, the former D-line coach of the Atlanta Falcons, is expected to become the new defensive line coach at Duke.”

Works for me. Good find, thanks!


(btw, it may help to add a quote to posts in the future because they tend not to like naked links here. But welcome to DBR and look forward to more contributions!)

Thanks! Just looked and he played at Auburn and was also a very successful HS coach in the Atlanta area so likely had good recruiting ties.

And no, “Jess Simpson” is not short for “Jessica Simpson.”

[OldPhiKap]

Thanks! Just looked and he played at Auburn and was also a very successful HS coach in the Atlanta area so likely had good recruiting ties.

And no, “Jess Simpson” is not short for “Jessica Simpson.”

Fact: you can’t say “Jessica Simpson” and “naked links” in the same sentence without giggling. Truth.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

the words in the piece ("average") don't match the ranking. Who cares? When the football is bad, the place is bad, when the football is good, the place is fine. It's the least of our concerns at this point.

Keep telling yourself that. An analogy might be the moribund Baltimore Orioles...when Camden Yards opened, even though the capacity was 25% lower, actual attendance went up immediately 40% - before the first game was played - and stayed up 40-45% for about 9 years, including some very poor W/L record years a few years in. The new stadium also changed the trajectory of the entire franchise, and while the team got better AFTER the stadium change, the attendance held up even as they slumped.

There are many other stories about how stadium renovations turned around the fortunes of a team...and in the last 40 years, most of those renovations have been shrinking the total capacities to increase density of fans, intimacy, 2 very key components in atmosphere and playing surface impact and noise (home team advantage).

[Daddylawman]

Thanks! Just looked and he played at Auburn and was also a very successful HS coach in the Atlanta area so likely had good recruiting ties.

If he was coaching at Buford HS then he is an excellent recruiter. It's pretty well known in the Atlanta area that even though high schools can't recruit Buford gets a ridiculous amount of great athletes to come to their school.

[laxdawg97]

If he was coaching at Buford HS then he is an excellent recruiter. It's pretty well known in the Atlanta area that even though high schools can't recruit Buford gets a ridiculous amount of great athletes to come to their school.

Great info.

I love this hire, which is historically un-Duke-like, but brings the sort of profile I'd hoped for. DL is Dan Quinn's specialty, and it says a lot he brought Simpson back from Miami for a 2nd stint with the Falcons. He knows the ACC, too. If any position room needs swagger, it's DL.

[PDDuke85]

https://twitter.com/dukefootball/sta...928478210?s=21

Made official this morning. Welcome Coach Simpson.

Next up, Temple

[CameronBornAndBred]

https://twitter.com/dukefootball/sta...928478210?s=21

Made official this morning. Welcome Coach Simpson.

Next up, Temple

I guess Elko was dead set on having two DCs. I hope two heads are better than one.

[laxdawg97]

Some poor soul at 247 was tasked with grading entire final coaching staffs for all 28 programs who made a head coaching change this cycle. What I found most interesting were the relative grades for the 4 ACC programs, all in our division.

Duke: B- "strong ACC connections but several coaches were at or near their expiration date at their previous gigs"
VaTech: C+ gets props for hiring Joe Rudolph away from Wisconsin but "those in the industry had questions about the additions of several others, including a playcaller"
UVA: C- "lacking star power" such that the HC himself is the "buoy"
Miami: B- "mostly [Cristobal] confidants at Oregon" while noting staff still remains incomplete

Seems directionally fair, and while his core point about Duke isn't wrong, it's also true that several of Coach Cut's best hires (Knowles, Latina) were not exactly on the upswing prior to Duke. Also, Duke doesn't seem to get full credit for luring an established OC away from a program with a lot of recent offensive success (Memphis).

Additionally, he echoes the belief that Elko chose Duke strategically when he could have waited for potentially more appealing / easier P5 jobs.

Overall, while it has issues, it seems decently sourced and consistent with perception among coaches, if not media (eg love for Clay Helton). Give yourself a minute if you decide to dig in:

https://247sports.com/LongFormArticl.../#181375780_16

[budwom]

Elko knows a ton more than any 247 analyst

[OldPhiKap]

Coach Johns on what he wants to instill into the offensive side of the ball:

https://twitter.com/dukefootball/sta...387394567?s=21