DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Football coach David Cutcliffe is staying at Duke.
Amid reports that he was a candidate for the opening at Tennessee, Cutcliffe said Friday he would remain with the Blue Devils because “Duke is the place for our family.”
Because of his connections to the Southeastern Conference and the Volunteers’ program, Cutcliffe was considered one of the obvious choices to replace Lane Kiffin, who left earlier this week for Southern California.
Cutcliffe was on Tennessee’s staff from 1982-1998 and from 2006-07.
In a statement issued through the school, Cutcliffe acknowledged his ties to Tennessee but said Duke is where he wants to coach.
He is 9-15 in two seasons at Duke, which won a combined eight games in the five years before he arrived.