DURHAM, N.C. — Duke coach David Cutcliffe quashed any speculation about him returning to Tennessee to replace his good friend and former boss, Phillip Fulmer.

"I'm at Duke, staying at Duke," Cutcliffe said Tuesday.

Cutcliffe twice served on Tennessee's staff and spent eight years as the Volunteers' offensive coordinator. He came to Duke last December after a two-year stint in Knoxville and has called Fulmer "the best football coach I've ever been associated with."

Cutcliffe said he was being proactive because he spoke to recruits who said other coaches had told them that he was headed to the Volunteers.