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Coaching Staff daily update: 1/3. New DC, OL, more

Your coaching staff update features the biggest hire of Mark Richt's tenure: a defensive coordinator not named Mark D'Onofrio. And, much more.

By Cameron J. Underwood
Miami native Manny Diaz is the Canes' new Defensive Coordinator
Miami native Manny Diaz is the Canes' new Defensive Coordinator

This, friends, is the update you've been waiting for. Let's go

6:25PM UPDATE

Former Offensive Coordinator James Coley will not be retained, and is moving on....to Georgia.

Say what you will about Coley as OC, but that's a pretty big demotion, going from OC at Miami to position coach WITHOUT Co-OC or any other title at Georgia. In any event, all the best.

Manny Diaz named Canes' Defensive Coordinator

We'd all been waiting to see who Mark Richt would hire to replace the outgoing Mark D'Onofrio as Defensive Coordinator. And, mid day on Saturday, we had to wait no longer.

Richt dipped into the SEC again, this time getting Mississippi State DC Manny Diaz to be the new DC. Diaz, whose father of the same name was once the Mayor of Miami, is a homegrown South Florida coach returning home to coach for the Canes. He will also coach Linebackers.

Must Reads

How Manny Diaz's defense works

Ian Boyd

Get the info you're looking for about Manny Diaz's attacking 4-3 defense.

Coaches work week: Wednesday - Manny Diaz

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A look behind the curtain at what a Wednesday in Manny Diaz's schedule looks like, and how it helps his defense be prepared for Saturdays.

Must Reads

How Manny Diaz's defense works Coaches work week: Wednesday - Manny Diaz

Diaz, who is highly regarded in the coaching world, will be bringing something to Coral Gables that Miami has been missing for years:

An attacking 4-3 defense.

Yeah. Read that again. And smile.

For those who I'm sure will take exception to this hire due solely to the fact that Diaz was fired from this position at Texas years ago, he's coordinated very good defenses before and after that time, and the stint at Texas (which had his defense still ranked in the top 40 at the time of his firing) was an aberration, in my opinion. But, that's just me. You can check out the articles embedded on the right for more info on Diaz's attacking 4-3 defense, and start to dream of how the talented defenders Miami has on its roster will do in such a scheme

Art Kehoe officially relieved of duties

Last week, it was rumored that Mark Richt was not going to keep longtime Offensive Line coach Art Kehoe on staff, but Miami had offered him a position as a fundraiser in the athletic department. In her report, Susan Miller Degnan of The Miami Herald stated that Miami did not offer Kehoe a fundraiser position, or any other position in the athletic department. Miller Degnan further reported that Kehoe had a three hour interview with Richt on Wednesday. On Sunday morning, was Kehoe was officially relieved of duties.

As a fellow alum, I wish Art Kehoe nothing but the best moving forward, but it was time for him to go. The OL had struggled badly in recent years, and it was time for a change.

Stacy Searels to replace Kehoe as OL coach

Well, that didn't take long.

Veteran OL coach Stacy Searels will replace Kehoe. Searels, who has coached OL at Cincinnati, LSU, Georgia, Texas, and Virginia Tech, has a long history of excellence in coaching. Love this move by Richt. Definite upgrade over Kehoe, whose recent coaching performance was substandard, to be sure.

A couple video profiles on Searels from his time at Texas:


New Strength coach on deck?

A rumor for you:

If true, that would be ANOTHER big move by Richt. Dr. Ivey was named FootballScoop.com's 2013 S&C coach of the year, and two of his disciples were named the 2011 and 2012 S&C coaches of the year. So, in short, the man knows what he's doing. And, with a doctorate to his credit, there would be no concerns of a repeat of Andreu Swasey's inability to pass a training certification test.

We'll see if Richt is able to get Ivey to Coral Gables.

Corey Raymond: Trending down

I'll keep this one quick: for those of us who'd had dreams of LSU DB coach Corey Raymond coming to Coral Gables, it might be time to give that up.

Dangit.

Coaching staff as of now

Since people like things in lists, here goes your current Miami Hurricanes coaching staff

Head Coach - Mark Richt

QB coach - OPEN

Co-OC/RB coach - Thomas Brown

WR coach - OPEN

TE coach - OPEN

OL coach - Stacy Searels

Offensive assistant (Grad assistant?) - Jon Richt

Defensive Coordinator - Manny Diaz

DL coach - Craig Kuligowski

LB coach - OPEN

DB coach - OPEN

ST coord - Todd Hartley

S&C coach - OPEN

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Full, full update for you today. More as it's available.

Go Canes