1:35pm Update

Temple has officially announced Manny Diaz as the next Owls coach. He will be introduced at a 3pm press conference.

Miami Hurricanes Head Coach Mark Richt released the following statement, via Miami Athletics:

“This morning defensive coordinator Manny Diaz informed me that he has accepted the head coach position at Temple University. Throughout the process, Manny had been very transparent about the opportunity with both myself and Blake James.

“In his three years in Coral Gables, Manny proved to be one of the top assistant coaches in the country and did an unbelievable job leading our defense. I have no doubt that he will experience great success as a head coach and we wish him, Steph, Colin, Gavin and Manny all of the best.

“We have launched a national search for a new defensive coordinator and we have already received great interest from around the country. Our football program, our university and our facilities are among the best in the country, and coaches want to be a part of something special. Our coaches are on the road recruiting the next generation of Canes and I am excited about the young men scheduled to sign with us next week. Together, we are building champions!”

Original story

After rumors swirled and reports picked up throughout the day on Wednesday, reports surfaced that Miami Hurricanes Defensive Coordinator Manny Diaz has agreed to be the next head coach at Temple University just minutes ago. Diaz will be introduced at a press conference on Thursday.

The 44-year old Diaz is stepping up from years of being a CFB assistant to take over a program as the head coach for the first time in his career. A Miami native — his father of the same name was Miami-Dade county Mayor for years — Diaz spent time at Florida State (GA), NC State (GA/LB/S/ST), Middle Tennessee State (DC/S/LB), Mississippi State (DC/LB), Texas (DC/LB), Louisiana Tech (DC/LB), and Mississippi State again (DC/LB), before coming to Miami as the Canes’ DC/LB coach for the past 3 years. In all, Diaz spent the last 22 seasons as an assistant coach, all in preparation for the chance to become a head coach, which he now has.

Of the stops on Diaz’s resume, the lone poor one was the end of his time at Texas. Mack Brown had lost his edge and the program was down, and Diaz’s defense were gashed. He was fired to try and save Brown’s head, and because the performance didn’t meet expectations. He rebounded nicely in his last 3 stops, including a top-tier turn at Miami, which put him in line for the Temple job.

Diaz fit in seamlessly at The U. He took a passive defense and got back to the basics of Miami football: fast and aggressive. His defenses have routinely been among the nation’s best at creating havoc and TFLs. Furthermore, Diaz was the mastermind behind Miami’s iconic Turnover Chain, which has been imitated by countless groups both in and out of sports.

Getting back to this move, it makes sense for Diaz. Temple has been a proven career-building job, with 4 coaches having parlayed success with the Owls into a P5 head coaching job. That list: Al Golden (Miami), Steve Addazio (Boston College), Matt Rhule (Baylor), and most recently Geoff Collins (Georgia Tech). While other future jobs may be more eye-catching from a name-brand standpoint, Diaz picking Temple as his first try as a HC makes a lot of sense.

Though no announcement has been made, Diaz may try to take fellow Miami staffers with him to Temple. Most notably, Safeties coach Ephraim Banda has worked for Diaz at both Mississippi State and Miami, and would be the coach most likely to join Diaz at Temple.

If you’re looking for a bit of analysis on what Diaz brought to Miami’s defense, and what his departure might portend, Alex Kirshner from the SB Nation mothership had this piece which might interest you:

While he wasn’t perfect here, Diaz’s defenses helped to get Miami back to the core tenets of what the program should be on D. And for that, I thank him.

Miami will now look to replace Diaz at DC, and will hopefully do so in short order.

From all of us here at SOTU, a heartfelt thank you to Manny Diaz, and best wishes moving forward (except when Temple comes to Miami in 2020. Your team and implode that day for all I care).

Go Canes