Another major piece of the Duke football coaching puzzle fell into place Tuesday with the hiring of Marty Galbraith to serve as head coach Ted Roof's offensive coordinator. The former Arizona Cardinals' tight ends coach is the fourth new member of the coaching staff and the most significant hire to date.
Galbraith is no stranger to the ACC or the North Carolina area. His most recent college job was serving as the offensive coordinator at N.C. State, tutoring such standouts as quarterback Philip Rivers. Earlier in his career, Galbraith served the same role at Wake Forest and Marshall and has coached ten seasons in the ACC, including a stint at Georgia Tech early in his career.
Unlike the case with his other three hires, Roof has never coached alongside Galbraith in the past, however the two competed across the sidelines in the conference. Still, the first-year head coach is excited about having Galbraith join his staff.
"We are extremely pleased to hire a coach of Marty's proven track record," Roof said. "He is a first-class man who will do a fine job of leading our student-athletes."
Roof first contacted Galbraith about a month ago when the NFL regular season was winding down, and it became apparent that Galbraith would be let go by the Cardinals. Serious conversations began after the conclusion of the NFL season, at which time rumors of Galbraith coming to Duke surfaced.
Galbraith's offensive philosophy is quite simple--he loves to mix it up. From his years of giving defensive coaches headaches with his offensive variability, he has developed the nickname "The Mad Scientist."
"What we have done in the past and what we will try to do here is keep the defenses off balance and try to be unpredictable," he said.
Anticipating bringing his offensive system to Wallace Wade Stadium, the Joplin, Mo. native is optimistic about the Blue Devils' prospects for the coming season--a major factor in his decision to join Roof's staff.
Galbraith was impressed by the commitment the university has made to football through the construction of the Yoh Football Center and other measures to strengthen the program. He also noted that the relationship between athletics and academics is different at Duke than at schools he coached at previously, but he sees this as a positive.
Galbraith enjoys the college game and did not leave N.C. State on bad terms after helping the team reach the Gator Bowl in 2002. He decided to return to the NFL where he had coached previously for the Kansas City Chiefs in 1985 to try to earn an NFL pension, which is received after five years of coaching in the league. However, after the Cardinals could only muster a 4-12 record, head coach Dave McGinnis and his coaching staff were let go.
Galbraith, like the other Roof hires Jerry Azzinaro, David Kelly and Glenn Spencer, has been successful on the college level, helping his teams reach eight bowl games. Galbraith will work closely with Kelly, who was the former offensive coordinator at Stanford, and will coach wide receivers at Duke.
"Getting in on the ground floor with a new coach, I'm excited to be here," Galbraith said.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.