The Duke Blue Devils college football team represents Duke University in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The Blue Devils compete as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The program has had 24 head coaches since it began play during the 1889 season. Since December 7, 2023, Manny Diaz has served as head coach at Duke.
Seven coaches have led Duke in postseason bowl games: Wallace Wade, Eddie Cameron, William D. Murray, Steve Spurrier, Fred Goldsmith, David Cutcliffe, and Elko. Four of those coaches also won conference championships: Wade captured six, Cameron three, and Murray one as a member of the Southern Conference; Murray captured six and Spurrier one as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Wade is the leader in seasons coached with 16 years as head coach and games won with 110. Floyd J. Egan has the highest winning percentage at 0.900. Ted Roof has the lowest winning percentage of those who have coached more than one game, with 0.118. Of the 24 different head coaches who have led the Blue Devils, Jones, Wade, Murray, McGee, and Spurrier have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Key
General | Overall | Conference | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Order of coaches | GC | Games coached | CW | Conference wins | PW | Postseason wins |
DC | Division championships | OW | Overall wins | CL | Conference losses | PL | Postseason losses |
CC | Conference championships | OL | Overall losses | CT | Conference ties | PT | Postseason ties |
NC | National championships | OT | Overall ties | C% | Conference winning percentage | ||
† | Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame | O% | Overall winning percentage |
Coaches
No. | Name |
Season(s) |
GC | OW | OL | OT | O% | CW | CL | CT | C% | PW | PL | PT | CC | NC | Awards |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | John Franklin Crowell | 1889–1889 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0.600 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
2 | Floyd J. Egan | 1920 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0.900 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
3 | James A. Baldwin | 1921 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0.778 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
4 | Herman G. Steiner | 1922 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0.750 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
5 | E. L. Alexander | 1923 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0.556 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
6 | Howard Jones | 1924 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0.444 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
7 | James P. Herron | 1925 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0.444 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
8 | Jimmy DeHart | 1926–1930 | 49 | 24 | 23 | 2 | 0.510 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0.682 | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
9 11 |
Wallace Wade | 1931–1941 1946–1950 |
153 | 110 | 36 | 7 | 0.742 | 68 | 18 | 3 | 0.781 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | — | — |
10 | Eddie Cameron | 1942–1945 | 37 | 25 | 11 | 1 | 0.689 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0.912 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | — | — |
12 | William D. Murray | 1951–1965 | 153 | 93 | 51 | 9 | 0.637 | 63 | 17 | 2 | 0.780 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | — | — |
13 | Tom Harp | 1966–1970 | 51 | 22 | 28 | 1 | 0.441 | 15 | 16 | 1 | 0.484 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
14 | Mike McGee | 1971–1978 | 88 | 37 | 47 | 4 | 0.443 | 17 | 25 | 4 | 0.413 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
15 | Shirley Wilson | 1979–1982 | 44 | 16 | 27 | 1 | 0.375 | 7 | 17 | 0 | 0.292 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
16 | Steve Sloan | 1983–1986 | 44 | 13 | 31 | 0 | 0.295 | 8 | 20 | 0 | 0.286 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
17 | Steve Spurrier | 1987–1989 | 34 | 20 | 13 | 1 | 0.603 | 11 | 9 | 1 | 0.548 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | — | — |
18 | Barry Wilson | 1990–1993 | 44 | 13 | 30 | 1 | 0.307 | 4 | 26 | 0 | 0.133 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
19 | Fred Goldsmith | 1994–1998 | 56 | 17 | 39 | 0 | 0.304 | 8 | 32 | 0 | 0.200 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | Bobby Dodd COY (1994) |
20 | Carl Franks | 1999–2003 | 52 | 7 | 45 | — | 0.135 | 3 | 33 | — | 0.083 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — | — |
21 | Ted Roof | 2003–2007 | 51 | 6 | 45 | — | 0.118 | 3 | 33 | — | 0.083 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — | — |
22 | David Cutcliffe | 2008–2021 | 174 | 77 | 97 | — | 0.443 | 35 | 79 | — | 0.307 | 3 | 3 | — | 0 | — | Walter Camp COY (2013) Sporting News Co-COY (2013) Bobby Dodd COY (2013) AFCA COY (2013) |
23 | Mike Elko | 2022–2023 | 25 | 16 | 9 | — | 0.640 | 9 | 7 | — | 0.563 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | — | — |
24 | Manny Diaz | 2024– | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | – | 0 | 0 | — | – | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — |
Notes
- Although the first Rose Bowl Game was played in 1902, it has been continuously played since the 1916 game, and is recognized as the oldest bowl game by the NCAA. "—" indicates any season prior to 1916 when postseason games were not played.
- A running total of the number of head coaches, with coaches who served separate tenures being counted only once. Interim head coaches are represented with "Int" and are not counted in the running total. "—" indicates the team played but either without a coach or no coach is on record. "X" indicates an interim year without play.
- Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since.
- When computing the win–loss percentage, a tie counts as half a win and half a loss.
- Statistics correct as of the end of the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season.
- Duke did not have a head coach from their 1890–1895 seasons.
- Duke did not field teams from the 1896–1919 seasons.
References
- National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2011). Bowl/All-Star Game Records (PDF). Indianapolis, Indiana: NCAA. pp. 5–10. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
- Whiteside, Kelly (August 25, 2006). "Overtime system still excites coaches". USA Today. McLean, Virginia. Archived from the original on September 6, 2010. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
- Finder, Chuck (September 6, 1987). "Big plays help Paterno to 200th". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
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