Manny Diaz, formally, was a former Miami football assistant, and the Temple head coach. Now Diaz is the head coach at UM.
Diaz was named late Sunday as the replacement for Mark Richt, who announced his retirement in a stunning move earlier in the day.
Diaz had been hired at Temple way back on Dec. 13 after three seasons as defensive coordinator on Richt’s staff at Miami.
He had agreed to a five-year contract that included a $4 million buyout if he were to leave to take another job.
“As excited as I am about staying home, I hate the way this unfolded with respect to Temple,” Diaz said in a statement. “I was given a tremendous opportunity to lead the Temple program and I was actively engaged in doing just that when I woke up this morning. I never saw this coming; no one did. I do hope that the Temple players, administration and fans appreciate the uniqueness of this situation and the overwhelming pull to stay home.”
Diaz, 44, is a Miami native and Florida State alum who began his coaching career as a grad assistant at FSU.
His coaching resume includes stops at North Carolina State, Middle Tennessee, Mississippi State, Texas and Louisiana Tech.
Diaz is the son of former two-term Miami mayor Manny Diaz Sr.
“Miami is home. The University of Miami is home. The U has truly been ‘the job’ for me since I first got into coaching,” Diaz said. “Having worked here over the past three years, I came to understand what it means to be part of ‘The U’ and came to appreciate the passion and commitment to excellence of all who proudly call themselves Canes. We will restore the football program to its place among the nation’s elite and we will do it with hard work, dedicated coaches, and outstanding student-athletes.”
Miami, the preseason favorite to win the ACC Coastal Division, got out to a 5-1 start in 2018, but a 16-13 loss at UVA in October started a four-game losing streak, and the ‘Canes finished 7-6, with a 35-3 loss to Wisconsin in last week’s Pinstripe Bowl.
Richt, a Miami alum, was 26-13 in three seasons as head coach.
Story by Chris Graham
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AFP
