I say why not bulk and cut at the same time, he prolly shouldn't worry about bulking or cutting since it doesn't seem like he's ever worked out in his life. Start eating well, downing protein shakes, do high intensity workout with low rest times in between sets, he'll gain muscle just from lifting for the first time and lose some fat the same time from the HIT workouts, seems foolish to pick one of the two. Also work out like 5-6 days a week, but make sure to have at least 48-72 hours rest in between workouts for each body part. No cardio will even be needed with this routine.