Ted Roof and Joe Alleva spoke at length about the circumstances leading up to the coach's firing Monday, and after the dust settled one issue shone through as a major reason for the two men going their separate ways.
They were talking past each other.
The Director of Athletics mentioned the business side of college football, that the embattled head coach simply did not produce enough wins during his tenure. But Roof did not look at his job in the same way, which is just one reason why a vast majority of his players disagreed with the decision to fire him.
"We didn't run this like a business," Roof said. "We approached this like this was a big family. Sometimes that's what makes it so difficult when families have to split up. That's what's happening right now."
With rumors of this outcome surfacing near the middle of the season and picking up steam heading down the stretch, players spoke out on multiple occasions to voice their support for their head coach. Nevertheless, Alleva did not consult with any of them at any point in time, fullback Clifford Harris said. When fans and media were calling for Roof's job, perhaps it would have paid to talk to the only people who had faith in him, especially considering they were the people with the most intimate knowledge of Duke football.
"I disagree with it," running back Re'quan Boyette said. "We are going in the right direction. Coach Roof was a great man and a great role model for young men like us. We feel like he was the best man for this job and the best guy to help change the program around."
Alleva said one of the major improvements he would like to see moving forward is in recruiting. But Duke has seen a significant increase in the number and quality of its recruits since Roof took over. In 2006, the Blue Devils signed the sixth-best incoming class in the ACC according to scout.com after coming in 10th place two years before. Given that Duke finished last in the the conference on the playing field for each of Roof's four years, some argue he did a great job recruiting the players he did.
"We've definitely gotten a lot more talented in the players we've got," wideout Jomar Wright said prior to the Notre Dame game two weeks ago. "Coach Roof has done an excellent job recruiting.
"I feel that we're so close that we have to keep pushing. We can't give up now. There can't be a major overhaul. I feel like if there's a major overhaul in the coaching staff, then it's just going to take longer."
Even Alleva agreed that a change of this magnitude was disruptive to the progress of a program, but he decided to dismiss Roof anyway before he was able to coach a team made up entirely of his own recruits.
Despite the business realities of college football, some players said they wished those outside the locker room realized just how long it takes to foster a winning program.
"Even with Coach K, there was patience with him when he first came in," Wright said. "People have to be realistic about how great of a program Duke football can be. That's not to say that the program can't win national championships, but it's not going to happen overnight."
After Roof informed the players of the decision Monday morning, they sat in silence for a few minutes. Many of them said they felt Roof was a major part of what the program was trying to accomplish, but Wright said he did not doubt he would have made the same decision if he were the Director of Athletics because college football is still a business. Even if the players and coaches feel more like one big family.
"Fans look at the win-loss column," Harris said. "I can understand that because that's what a fan wants to see, they want to win. But they don't understand the hard work he's put in to change this program. I think he has improved a lot.... I didn't want to see him go."
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