North Carolina State University Athletics
Tony Haynes: Duke D?ja Vu
10/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 21, 2003
By Tony Haynes
When it was announced on Sunday that Carl Franks had been terminated as Duke's head football coach, the news quickly rippled through every corner of the ACC, but especially at NC State, which will provide the opposition for the Blue Devils this Saturday. Does this sound familiar? Almost exactly 10 years ago, Barry Wilson showed up at his regular Monday press conference - before the NC State game - and announced that he would not return as Duke's head coach following the 1993 season. What happened five days later that year could provide a valuable history lesson for the Wolfpack as it prepares for this weekend's trip to Durham.
Riding the emotion of Wilson's tearful decision to step down under pressure in '93, the Blue Devils responded by playing their most inspired game of the year, jumping out to a 21-0 lead before hanging on for a shocking 21-20 win over NC State.
Ironically, one of the defensive coaches on the Duke sideline that day was Ted Roof, the same Ted Roof who has now been handed the keys to the Duke program for at least five more games.
The biggest difference between now and 10 years ago, of course, is that, unlike Wilson, Franks was not given the opportunity to finish out the season. In 1993, knowing that their coach would be gone at seasons end, the Blue Devil players rallied around Wilson, giving him a victory he could always cherish.
As of Monday, the atmosphere around the Duke program was, in a word, somber. Roof, who was hired by Franks to take over the defensive coordinator duties prior to last season, sounded nearly guilt-ridden about the circumstances.
"It's very awkward," Roof said. "Carl Franks gave me a chance to come to a great place like Duke and I feel very bad that I wasn't able to do a better job for him. It's been tough. We've got a lot of young men here that we owe them our very best effort and we're certainly going to give them that."
But how much will the Duke players have left in the tank? Will it be like 10 years ago or will Franks' firing be taken as a white flag of surrender waiving over the remainder of the current campaign? In the immediate aftermath of the coaching change last weekend, NC State receiver Tramain Hall could only surmise that the Duke players were feeling somewhat stunned and confused.
"In the middle of the season your coach gets fired, you ask yourself 'what are we going to do?'" said Hall. "It's up to this new coach to motivate these guys, to pick them up. If he can do that, they'll come out and play hard against us. But you've got to be scared that these guys may come out and want to tear us up."
There's also another concern for the Wolfpack. With Roof now calling the shots for a team that really has nothing to lose, Duke could throw all caution to the wind and try almost anything on either side of the ball.
"Who knows? They have nothing to lose," said Pack coach Chuck Amato. "It's like playing a first game all over again."
Coaches always expect the unexpected in first games, especially since teams haven't had enough games and plays under their belts to build up tendencies upon which coaches always rely when building game plans.
Roof, a defensive coach by trade, has already said that he will participate in some of the offensive meetings this week. Coming from a defensive coach who understands what kinds of schemes and formations that give defenses trouble, his input, if nothing else, will be fresh and perhaps even unconventional.
Either way, it would behoove NC State to prepare itself to face a Duke squad that will be ready to unleash some pent up emotions by the time Saturday rolls around.
And the Pack and its fans can only hope that, in the words of Yogi Berra, it's not "D?ja Vu all over again."
