See your future, be your future. When it comes to Manny Diaz's Duke Blue Devils, it is all about building off an unexpected breakthrough season. While Duke has won nine games in each of the last two years, the Blue Devils winning the ACC outright caught everyone off guard. Although that may have paved a way out of Durham for top transfer portal pieces like Darian Mensah, Diaz still remains.
In Adam Rittenberg's "College Football Future Power Rankings through 2027" post for ESPN.com, he had Duke right in the middle of everything at No. 40. While that is six spots down from last year's ranking at No. 34 overall, Duke holding steady is a testament to the job Diaz and his staff are doing. Walker Eget may be their new quarterback coming over in the transfer portal, but this staff is the key.
Coordinators Jonathan Brewer and Jonathan Patke have been on Diaz's staff since the beginning. While this may only be year three for them all together in Durham, Rittenberg believes their continuity will be what keeps Duke afloat during this transitional time. Players may come and go, but as long as Diaz has the right people around him, Duke will win more games than most casual fans would expect.
The big key is how Duke can prevent from becoming another program's farm system, such as Miami.
Blue Devils football staff must show it is not other schools' farm system
In time, the more winning Duke does, the more Diaz's cachet will grow. While he may get the bulk of the praise, Brewers and Patke will get their own shine as well. Everybody is looking for the next hotshot coordinator. There is a non-zero chance it could be one of them. The big question is if all three men will be in Durham for the long haul. Duke may need to pay up to keep all of them around.
When it comes to Brewer, he and his offensive staff should have a strong front five. While the interior of the offensive line is the unit's strength, it may all come down to how well Duke runs the football with Nate Sheppard in the backfield. The all-conference performer should help bring along Eget into Power Four competition. Keep in mind the offense was the strength of last season's ACC champions.
As far as the defense is concerned, Patke needs to rise to the occasion like Diaz has as a head coach. The strength of the 2024 Duke team was on their side of the football, but last year's team was every bit an offensive one. There is a chance Diaz and Patke won with Mike Elko's holdovers, but they are out to prove everyone wrong. If Duke wants to repeat in the ACC, Patke has to be a catalyst for them.
Read more: A more well-rounded Duke team must contain these 2 ACC stars to repeat in-conference
Overall, Duke must use Diaz's perceived steadiness to help counterbalance the inherent volatility that is baked into his program. Diaz must continue to grow as a head coach, as Patke gets a firmer grasp of his defense and Brewer revamps a few things offensively. If they all come together, Duke can be more than just a top-40 team in the Power Four. They could repeat in the ACC and make the playoff.
Ultimately, the dollars and sense will need to make sense for Diaz, Brewer, Patke, and the rest of the Blue Devils staff to stay in Durham for the long run. Duke may be a traditional power on the hardwood, but it has an excellent football team to be proud of. Elko left after two years. Steve Spurrier after three. While Diaz may be on another team's radar, he has the power to make Duke an ACC behemoth.
If there is any reason to be bullish on Duke heading into this season, it has to be about Diaz's staff.
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