Dec. 6, 2003

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DURHAM, N.C. - Ted Roof, a former All-ACC linebacker at Georgia Tech and Duke's interim head coach for the final five weeks of the 2003 season, was named the head coach of the Blue Devils at a press conference on Saturday morning in the Yoh Football Center.

Roof, who replaced Carl Franks on Sunday, October 19, following the Blue Devils' 42-13 loss to Wake Forest and guided the team to a 2-3 ledger, becomes the 20th head coach in Duke gridiron history.

Under Roof's guidance, Duke snapped a 30-game losing streak in ACC play with a 42-17 victory over Georgia Tech on November 8, and then closed out the season by defeating North Carolina, 30-22, for the Blue Devils' first win over the Tar Heels since 1989. Duke placed two players - Chris Douglas and Matt Zielinski - on the All-ACC first team, marking the first time more than one Blue Devil has been honored with the distinction since 1994, while Ryan Fowler and Terrell Smith were tabbed to the second team all-league unit.

Smith currently ranks second in the ACC in tackles per game (11.7) and Fowler (11.3) is third while Zielinski is among the league leaders in tackles for loss (18), quarterback sacks (7) and caused fumbles (3). Douglas flourished following the mid-season coaching change, rushing for 100 or more yards in four of the five contests under Roof en route to posting the fifth 1,000-yard rushing season in Duke history.

Duke recently completed its 91st season of intercollegiate football and holds an all-time record of 440-408-31. Duke won 10 Southern Conference championships before entering the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1953, and has captured eight ACC titles.

Roof, who was nominated in 2000 for the Broyles Award given to the nation's top assistant coach, previously served as an assistant coach at Duke from 1990-93. Before returning to Durham, Roof was the defensive coordinator at his alma mater from 1999-01.

In 2002, Roof directed the Blue Devil defense to marked improvements from the previous season. After finishing ninth in the ACC against the run in 2001, Duke led the league in rushing defense a year later by allowing just 120.5 yards per game on the ground. In 2003, the Blue Devils jumped from ninth in passing defense in the ACC to a third-place standing.

Over the past two seasons, the Blue Devils moved from ninth to fifth in the ACC and from 113th to 58th nationally in total defense.

At Georgia Tech, Roof coached the linebackers in 1998 before being elevated to defensive coordinator prior to the 1999 season. In 1998, the Yellow Jackets went 10-2, shared the ACC title with Florida State and upended Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl. The 1999 Tech team went 8-4 and finished the year ranked 21st in the Associated Press poll. In 2000, the Yellow Jacket defense ranked 12th in the nation in rushing defense and 20th in scoring defense, allowing just 19.0 points per game, as Georgia Tech posted a 9-3 record and was ranked 17th in the final national poll.

In 2001, the Tech defensive unit ranked third in the ACC in total defense (333.3 ypg) and second in rushing defense (117.1 ypg) - marks that ranked 32nd and 23rd nationally. In Georgia Tech's 24-14 win over 11th-ranked Stanford in the Seattle Bowl, the Yellow Jackets held the Cardinal offense to season lows of 350 total yards and 14 points. During Roof's coaching stint at Georgia Tech, the Yellow Jackets posted a four-year record of 35-14, tied for the 1998 ACC Championship and played in four bowl games (Gator - 1998 & 1999, Peach - 2000, Seattle - 2001).

Roof began his coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at Alabama from 1987-88 before serving as the linebackers coach at West Georgia in 1989. He then spent four seasons as the outside linebackers coach at Duke under Barry Wilson. Following his stint in Durham, Roof was on the staff at Massachusetts for three seasons and then served one season as defensive coordinator at Western Carolina before moving on to Georgia Tech.

A native of Lawrenceville, Ga., and a graduate of Central Gwinnett High School, Roof lettered four times for the Jackets during the 1982-85 seasons. He started his final three seasons and was a leader of the Rambling Wreck's famed "Black Watch" defense as a senior, when he served as team captain while Georgia Tech went 9-2-1 and defeated Michigan State in the All American Bowl. A first team All-ACC selection in 1985, Roof ranks seventh on the Jackets' all-time tackling list with 417 hits and is sixth in career tackles for loss with 25. He was named the Defensive Back of the Year in 1985 by the Atlanta Touchdown Club.

Roof, 39, who was enshrined into the Georgia Tech Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998, earned a bachelor's degree in Management in 1987. Roof is married to the former Pam Ash of Fayetteville, Ga., and the couple has five-year-old twin boys, Terrence Davis and Michael Edwin.

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