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Duke Blue Devils: Potential Candidates to Eventually Replace Mike Krzyzewski

By Chris Godfrey

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Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports

Back off the ledge, Duke fans. There’s no reason to panic just yet. Despite the scandalous headline, there wasn’t a “breaking news” announcement that you missed this week. As far as we know, Mike Kryzyzewski is still the same basketball coaching cyborg that we knew him to be yesterday, and assume he will be for all eternity.

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Unfortunately, it is starting to become necessary to acknowledge that Coach K is nearing an uncomfortable place in his career. With more than 1,000 wins in his rear-view mirror and now a national championship for each of his five fingers, it’s safe to say that Coach K is in the twilight of his career. No one would dare say that the wily ol’ coach is losing his touch, but not even Coach K can coach forever.

Krzyzewski will turn 69 during the 2015-2016 season, putting him a year away from the magic number of 70, which always seems to cue a depiction of circling buzzards (or journalists, whatever you wish to call us) as they anxiously await the opportunity to report a retirement announcement.

Jim Calhoun walked away from Connecticut at the age of 70, relinquishing the duties to his novice assistant, Kevin Ollie.

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    • Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim isn’t quitting at 70, but he at least thought it was necessary to address his future as his age began to loom over the program and affect recruiting. Recently he announced that he will retire in 2018. His replacement, longtime assistant Mike Hopkins, has already been named.

    By comparison, Bo Ryan is getting out of the game early. He’ll be a spry 68-years-old when he finishes his previously announced final run with the Badgers. However, considering the Badgers are in the midst of a slight rebuild, this seemed like a decent time for Coach Bo to move on.

    If I had to take a guess, I’d say that Krzyzewski’s career extends past Boeheim’s, leaving Coach K as the last great coach of his generation. Afterwards, one of the most anticipated coaching searches in the history of sports will ensue. There’s a chance that the school will make a boring hire and slide over a current assistant into the head role, but the extensiveness of the Kryzyzewski coaching tree is enough to offer an array of quality candidates.

    These are just a few of the names that could possibly be the heir to Coach K’s dynasty in Durham, but don’t be shocked if any of these coaches are the next to lead the Duke Blue Devils.