Cutcliffe Surfaces in Rumor Mill

With the news that Tennessee football coach Lane Kiffin is bolting for USC, you had to believe that former Vols offensive coordinator (and curent Duke head coach) David Cutcliffe's name would surface in rumors.

And, predictably, Cutcliffe's name has blown up on Twitter. (Note: That might be an overstatement, but we're talking about Duke Football, so everything's relative.) Even Chris Mortensen is (figuratively) throwing gasoline on the fire.

I would also bet Peyton Manning already has sent a quick message to UT to get Cutcliffe.

When the Tennessee job came open a year ago, Cutcliffe was mentioned as a candidate, but quashed those rumors, saying, "I'm at Duke, staying at Duke."

ESPN's Chris Low is reporting that Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp is Tennessee's top target.

Still, it speaks to the success that Cutcliffe has had in his two years as Duke's head coach that his name is even mentioned in conjunction with the top job at a program like Tennessee. Hopefully, Duke AD Kevin White was on the phone with Cutcliffe tonight, making sure his head coach is very happy in his current situation.