The Duke Blue Devils are in the market for a new head football coach for the second time since 2021, with Mike Elko absconding to Texas A&M. After posting a 17-9 record, there’s little denying that Elko has left the Duke football program in better shape than where it was when he arrived two years ago.
Now, it’s up to whichever candidate athletic director Nina King picks to pick up where Elko left off. The Blue Devis will have a new coach when North Carolina sportsbooks debut in 2024. Duke aims to get back to where David Cutcliffe got the program between 2012 and 2018, when the Blue Devils were regular bowl game participants.
Ahead of that decision, BetCarolina.com - home to information on NC betting apps – offers hypothetical odds on who could be the next head football coach in Durham, taking over the reins from Elko.
Next Duke Football Head Coach Odds
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Who Replaces Elko at Duke?
A host of Power 5 coordinators (like Elko in 2021) and smaller school head coaches very well could be the heir apparent at Duke, with Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and Tulane head coach Willie Fritz among the leaders to do so.
Knowles, who has the best odds of being Elko’s replacement at +1000, led the nation’s No. 2 scoring defense in 2023 (11.0 points per game) and was Cutcliffe’s defensive coordinator between 2010 and 2017.
Fritz has turned the Green Wave into one of the best teams outside the Power 5. Last year’s 12-2 campaign ended with Tulane’s upset USC in the Cotton Bowl. This year’s 11-1 squad has lost only to Ole Miss.
Fritz, along with Toledo head coach Jason Candle and Colorado offensive coordinator Sean Lewis, are tied for the second-best odds at +1200. Scottie Montgomery of the Detroit Lions and James Madison head coach Curt Cignetti are next up at +1500 apiece. Cignetti has led JMU into the FBS with a bang, going 19-4 in two seasons in the Sun Belt, including this year’s 11-1 squad that will make the program’s first bowl game trip.
Other names to keep an eye on for the Duke opening include Florida State offensive coordinator Alex Atkins and current Duke offensive coordinator Kevin Johns, who are listed at +1750.
The highest odds go the field, with “Other” listed at 40%. You can count on BetCarolina.com to be on top of college football betting odds.
