David Cutcliffe: I Hate the Word Frustrated

Duke has not had the amount of on-field success it wanted this season, but that doesn’t mean it’s been a bad year, coach David Cutcliffe emphasized in his weekly press conference.

“I have obviously thought a lot lately about how difficult a season streak like this is,” he said. “There is nothing easy about it. It's not easy for anybody in our football world. I mean everybody, everybody is suffering in some manner. Whoever supports players, whoever coaches the players and more than anyone else the players themselves. And I realized in 44 years of coaching I've only been a part of six losing seasons. I don't really have anything to complain about by any manner. This season is not over. So, we're sitting at a four and six ledger. But I want to tell you this, because this has been the most prominent thing on my mind, out of 44 seasons I've had six losing seasons, but I've had 44 gratifying, rewarding seasons coaching football. None of them are bad.”

Duke football players and coaches have felt a wide range of emotions during the team’s four-game losing streak, but there’s one that Cutcliffe takes issue with.

“I told our team this week my least favorite word, and some of you may remember me saying this, is being frustrated,” he said. “I don't like the word frustrated. That suggests there is no answer. We can be disappointed. We can be dejected a little while. We can be angry. We can be a lot of things, but we're not going to be frustrated. There are answers always. The answers come through work. They come through communication. They come through being detailed and tedious about everything we do.”