When Mike Elko arrived at Duke, the Blue Devils were coming off a 3-9 season that saw them go 0-8 in the ACC. The previous year they were 2-9 and 1-9 in the ACC.
Then in his first year, Elko led Duke to a shocking 9-4 season. This year they raced out a top 20 ranking and a 5-1 start that included Gameday in Durham in a game against Notre Dame.
When Duke star QB Riley Leonard suffered an injury, Duke struggled down the stretch against a tougher second-half schedule.
They still managed to make a bowl with a 7-5 record. For his great work, Mike Elko was picked up by his former employer Texas A&M.
How much motivation would Duke have against an 11-2 Troy team playing in their home state?
It looks like Mike Elko left behind a solid culture as Duke won the Birmingham Bowl 17-10 to finish the year 8-5. Hats off to interim coach Trooper Taylor who is also headed to Texas A&M, as he got the Blue Devils ready to compete.
Now in walks Manny Diaz former Miami HC, and Penn State assistant into a pretty good situation.
In the past coming to Duke meant a major rebuild. Diaz doesn’t have that issue. Grayson Loftis who quarterbacked Duke today and parts of the season will be joined by transfer Maalik Murphy of Texas in what should be a nice QB battle.
Manny Diaz was uneven at best at Miami, but for Duke to hire a head coach with decent P5 experience gives them a chance to continue to build on what Mike Elko started.
