With the ongoing free agency keeping all 32 NFL franchises in the headlines, a story away from the league has quietly emerged. After more than four decades on the sidelines, a veteran coach is set to walk away, having helped shape various future NFL quarterbacks. As the news broke, Peyton Manning was among the first to react, sharing a heartfelt message.

“Congrats on an incredible career, Coach,” wrote Manning on his Instagram Story, sharing a post that mentioned coach David Cutcliffe’s retirement.

Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, David Cutcliffe earned his first college football gig in 1982. The Tennessee Volunteers appointed him as an assistant. Before that, he was the head coach of Banks High School in Alabama. He stayed with the Volunteers through the 1998 season. During those years, he earned several promotions. Initially an assistant, he later became the tight ends coach, then running backs coach, and following that, the quarterbacks coach.

From 1994 to 1998, he took the role of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. It was during this span that he got the chance to coach a young Peyton Manning.

Under him, Peyton Manning flourished, earning Consensus All-American, two Third-team All-American, and the SEC Male Athlete of the Year. Ultimately, Manning was selected first overall by the Indianapolis Colts in the 1998 NFL Draft. He went on to win two Super Bowls and became one of the most successful quarterbacks in NFL history.

Even as Peyton Manning gave a nod by putting it up on his story, his connection to David Cutcliffe only scratches the surface. Cutcliffe’s coaching tree runs deep, having developed multiple NFL quarterbacks over the years, including Eli Manning, Heath Shuler, and Tee Martin. It is a legacy that goes beyond one superstar, highlighting a pipeline of signal-callers shaped under his system.

Even as David Cutcliffe steps away, the ripple effect feels familiar. When Nick Saban retired in 2024, tributes poured in across the sport, with former players and coaches rushing to honor one of the game’s defining figures, underlining just how deeply such exits resonate beyond wins and losses.

Cutcliffe has coached hundreds of students over the last four decades. Now, his magnificent career is nearing its end. According to the Southeastern Conference’s announcement on Tuesday, David Cutcliffe will retire on March 31, 2026. Even as the veteran coach retires in about two weeks at the end of March 2026, his legacy will forever be cherished.

David Cutcliffe leaves as a legendary figure in college football

David Cutcliffe was a college football coach from 1982 to 2021. Although he was still associated with college football in 2022, he was not a coach. Since 2022, he has been the SEC’s special assistant to the commissioner for football. With only a few days left before his retirement, Cutcliffe has released a statement mentioning how much he loves the sport.

“I leave this game with a full heart and a deep sense of gratitude, especially for the young men I’ve had the privilege to coach,” said David Cutcliffe. “The players have always been the reason and the reward. Watching them grow, not just as players, but as students, leaders, sons, husbands, and fathers, has been the greatest joy of my career.”

Under his guidance, Tennessee became a powerhouse, finishing in the AP top 10 every year from 1995 to 1998 while recording double-digit wins in each season. The run peaked in 1998 with a perfect 13-0 campaign, capped by a 23-16 win over Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl to secure the program’s first national title since 1967.

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That success paved the way for his move to Ole Miss, where he went 44-29 across six seasons and coached future NFL quarterback Eli Manning, even leading the Rebels to a share of the SEC West title in 2003.

After being let go by Ole Miss following the 2004 season, David Cutcliffe returned to Tennessee before taking over Duke in 2008. Over the next 14 seasons, he rebuilt the program, finishing with 77 wins and peaking with a historic 10-win campaign in 2013 that saw the Blue Devils claim the ACC Coastal title and reach the conference championship game.

His success also translated into individual honors, including the Broyles Award, SEC Coach of the Year recognition, multiple ACC Coach of the Year nods, and a sweep of national coach of the year awards during his standout 2013 season.

After decades of shaping the game, the veteran coach now steps away at 71, bringing the curtain down on a 40-year run that touched generations.

While wins and accolades tell part of the story, his real legacy lives on in the quarterbacks he molded, none bigger than Peyton Manning and Eli Manning. For David Cutcliffe, retirement is not an end, but the final chapter of a coaching tree that helped define the Manning dynasty and echo across the NFL.