Manny Diaz, Duke: Meet The 2024 New Head Coaches
2024 New College Football Head Coaches
Manny Diaz, Duke
Manny Diaz, center, was introduced as Duke's football coach on Dec. 9, 2023 on campus inside the Pascal Field House.
© Rodd Baxley/The Fayetteville Observer / USA TODAY NETWORK
Previous Life: The star defensive coordinator at several spots, he worked at six different schools with the last two seasons at Penn State being among his best. … He was named the head coach at Temple, but almost immediately after he offered the open Miami job in 2019. He went 21-15. … Great just about everywhere he has been, he had one rough year at Texas, but built back up his reputation at Louisiana Tech, Mississippi State and Miami.
Top Line of the Resumé: Penn State was No. 1 in the nation for most of last year in total defense, finished No. 2, and was No. 1 against the run and in sacks and tackles for loss.
Realistic Year One Expectations: Get to six wins and a bowl game. Duke showed over the last few years under Mike Elko that it’s possible to win in Durham, but there’s a hard ceiling on how high the team can go. With its schedule, get to six wins and a bowl.
Realistic Expectations Over The Next Five Years: Six wins and a bowl every year. It’s going to be harder than ever for Duke to put together winning seasons - the ACC is getting a bit more interesting, but not necessarily stronger - but as long as the defense is up to the level Diaz is used to, it’ll be doing its job.
What Will Happen? The pressure won’t be the same at Duke like it was at his last head coaching gig at Miami, but the program has gone bowling in eight of the last 12 years.
He’ll make Duke competitive, but there will be a hard ceiling on how high it can do. One awful year will put him on a hot seat, he’ll get past it, but it’ll be a rocky run.
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