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DURHAM -- Duke football coach David Cutcliffe again has lured one of his former assistant coaches away from an established job, announcing the hiring of Cornell head coach Jim Knowles as the Blue Devils' co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach on Monday.
Knowles has been Cornell's head coach for six seasons and played on the defensive line for the Big Red in the mid-1980s. He spent the 2003 season as an assistant to Cutcliffe at Ole Miss, when the Rebels won the Cotton Bowl, and has decided to leave his alma mater to reunite.
"We are thrilled to have Coach Knowles rejoin our staff," Cutcliffe said in a statement released by the school. "Jim played a big role in the success of our 2003 team at Ole Miss, so I know what we're getting in terms of his personality, work ethic and football knowledge. His understanding of defensive football is at the head of the class, and our players will enjoy playing under his leadership.
"His experience as a head coach certainly will pay dividends within our program, and on top of his coaching abilities, we know he'll be a great fit on our staff because we're so familiar with each other."
Knowles replaces Mike MacIntyre, who accepted the head coaching job at San Jose State earlier this month. When Cutcliffe arrived at Duke before the 2008 season, MacIntyre left the New York Jets for a second chance to be on Cutcliffe's staff, while co-defensive coordinator Marion Hobby (New Orleans Saints), Ron Middleton (Alabama), and Kurt Roper and Matt Luke (Tennessee) made similar moves.
"It's like the Blues Brothers: 'Let's get the band back together,' " said Knowles, who plans to arrive in Durham on Saturday. "Quality -- there isn't a better word to sum up [Cutcliffe]. He's a first-class human being.
"He has a plan, a proven plan of success, and he treats you with respect and gives you leeway to coach. It's a great work environment."
Duke assistant Zac Roper spent three seasons on Knowles' staff at Cornell before leaving for the Blue Devils.
"Zac is the kind of man of few words, but he had only great things to say," Knowles said. "He said, 'We have a real opportunity to win. We're getting a little better every year, the plan is solid and we're bringing in better recruits.'
"It's just an opportune time for me. I'm lucky. I feel like I'm buying a stock when it's still low but showing improvement. It's guaranteed success. That's how I feel."
Knowles went 26-34 in six seasons as Cornell's head coach. In his first season, the Big Red went from 1-9 the previous year to 4-6 (4-3 Ivy League), becoming the first team in conference history to go from zero conference wins to a winning league record in one season.
A 1987 Cornell graduate, Knowles spent nine years (1988-96) as an assistant coach at his alma mater and then six seasons at Western Michigan, the final two as defensive coordinator, before coaching linebackers and serving as recruiting coordinator for Cutcliffe at Ole Miss in 2003.
"I think I can add a lot in terms of the blitz game and particularly with third-down packages," Knowles said. "I like to blitz a lot -- I'd bring the manager and the water boy if I could.
"That doesn't mean that's what we're going to be like, but maybe I can spice it up a little bit. They're already well on the path."
Knowles said he didn't yet know how he and Hobby, who are longtime friends, would divide duties.
Cutcliffe also announced Monday that Hobby has been promoted to assistant head coach in addition to retaining his co-defensive coordinator role, and Jim Collins has been promoted to assistant defensive coordinator in addition to continuing to coach linebackers.
