David Cutcliffe, the former Ole Miss head coach who helped prime Eli Manning to be the first player selected in the 2004 NFL Draft, is retiring from college football.
Cutcliffe – a former national coach of the year and three-time conference coach of the year who earned the reputation as an offensive mastermind – is departing from his post as the Southeastern Conference’s Special Assistant to the Commissioner for Football Relations on March 31. He has held role since 2022.
“I leave this game with a full heart and a deep sense of gratitude, especially for the young men I’ve had the privilege to coach,” Cutcliffe said. “The players have always been the reason and the reward. Watching them grow, not just as players, but as students, leaders, sons, husbands, and fathers, has been the greatest joy of my career.
“I’m equally thankful for the outstanding coaches, staff members, and administrators who worked alongside me, but it’s the relationships with our players that I will treasure most. They taught me as much as I ever taught them. College football has given me a lifetime of memories and friendships, and I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to be part of so many young lives.”
Before joining the SEC’s front office, Cutcliffe concluded a four-decade college coaching career, including 20 years as a head coach at Ole Miss and Duke. He served as an assistant at Tennessee from 1982-98 and again from 2006-07, the final six seasons as assistant head coach. Throughout his career, he developed multiple standout quarterbacks, including eight who played in the NFL.
“David Cutcliffe has devoted more than four decades to shaping young men and strengthening the game of football, and his influence reaches far beyond wins and championships,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said. “Throughout his career as a coach, mentor, and most recently as a special assistant in our SEC office, David has served college football with wisdom, integrity, and a genuine care for people.
“He is a teacher at heart and someone whose counsel and friendship have meant a great deal to many of us across the conference and throughout the game. We are deeply grateful for his leadership and the example he has set. I wish David and Karen every happiness in this well-earned retirement.”
Born and raised in Birmingham, Ala., Cutcliffe attended Banks High School before enrolling at the University of Alabama. He began his coaching career in 1976 at his high school alma mater, later moving to Tennessee in 1982. Rising through the ranks from tight ends coach to offensive coordinator, Cutcliffe helped guide the Volunteers to two SEC titles and the 1998 national championship, a year in which he won the Broyles Assistant Coach of the Year Award. As quarterbacks coach, he mentored future NFL standouts including Peyton Manning, Heath Shuler, and Tee Martin.
Cutcliffe served as the Rebels’ frontman from 1999-2004. There, he recruited and developed Eli Manning, leading Ole Miss to a share of the SEC Western Division title in 2003 and a victory in the Cotton Bowl Classic. That season marked the red and blue’s first 10-win campaign in 32 years. He was subsequently named SEC Coach of the Year.
“Coach Cut has been an incredible coach, mentor, and friend to me for the past 27 years. He taught me the importance of doing the common things uncommonly well and taking pride in the smallest details, both in football and in life,” Manning said. “His impact on the game can be seen in the many players and coaches he has influenced throughout his career. I’m grateful for everything he has meant to me and to the game of football.”
Cutcliffe became head coach at Duke in 2008 and ended an 18-year bowl drought by leading the Blue Devils to six postseason appearances. He inherited a program that had only three winning seasons in the previous 25 years and, before his arrival, had not beaten an ACC opponent in three years.
In 2013, he led Duke to a 10-win season and the ACC Coastal Division title while earning National Coach of the Year honors from the Walter Camp Foundation, the Maxwell Football Club, and the Bobby Dodd Foundation. Duke was led by current Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones from 2016-18. Cutcliffe was named ACC Coach of the Year in 2012 and 2013.
While serving in the SEC’s front office, Cutcliffe provided guidance to the conference office for the purpose of enhancing the overall quality of football competition in the conference’s areas, including game management, communications, playing rules, national policies, and scheduling best practices.
Though he won’t be operating in any official capacity at the college football ranks, those who got to know him best say Cutcliffe’s legacy will continue to be felt across the sport, and especially in the SEC.
