Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott watches the team warm up before the game with Pitt at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Saturday, October 23, 2021. Ncaa Football Clemson At Pitt

The Duke Blue Devils and Virginia Cavaliers both find themselves with a head coach. It appears they might be battling it out for a very similar target.

According to Steve Wiseman of the Raleigh (N.C.) News and Observer, Duke has zeroed in on Clemson’s Tony Elliott and Texas A&M’s Mike Elko as the top candidates for the head coaching vacancy. The Blue Devils are looking to replace David Cutcliffe, whom they parted ways with this year following 14 seasons.

While Wiseman also noted that former Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett was “on the radar,” Elliott is presumed to have the inside track given that he’s been the Clemson Tigers offensive coordinator since 2015, been involved in two national championship teams, and knows the ACC about as well as anyone.

Elliott interviewed for the opening at Duke early in December, according to The Devils Den.

However, the Virginia Cavaliers are also looking to replace a coach who stepped away this season. After Bronco Mendenhall made a surprising announcement last week, the school has scrambled to figure out who it could hire to replace him and has apparently zeroed in on Elliott.

According to Pat Forde, Elliott is leaning towards the Virginia job even though he appears to be the favorite to land the Duke gig. Perhaps he sees the Cavaliers as an easier path to success and long-term viability.

Penn State co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Anthony Poindexter, who is a Virginia alum, is also considered a favorite for the Virginia job, but things appear to be in flux for him as well.

We’ll likely get an ending to this drama in the next few days, and once that decision is made for one school the dominoes will fall for the other. And then we’ll have to see how schools like Clemson fill the voids left behind by seeing their assistants set up shop elsewhere. The carousel just keeps spinning.

[All Clemson, News and Observer, 24/7, Brandon Marcello, Pat Forde]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.