Miami hires Mississippi State’s Manny Diaz as defensive coordinator
Miami has hired Mississippi State’s Manny Diaz as its defensive coordinator, the school announced on Saturday.
Diaz served as the defensive coordinator for the Bulldogs this season, and previously coached at Louisiana Tech in 2014 and Texas from 2011–13. Diaz first began his coaching career in 1998 as a graduate assistant with Florida State.
“I’m very excited about Manny Diaz becoming our defensive coordinator,” head coach Mark Richt said in a statement. “I’ve known him for over 20 years and I’ve watched him become one of the best defensive minds in the business. He and our defensive staff will implement a 4–3 attacking style defense. I’m looking forward to working with Manny.”
Richt was hired by Miami in early December, replacing Al Golden, who was fired in October after a program-worst 58–0 loss to Clemson.
Last week, Richt added Todd Hartley, the former director of player personnel and interim special teams coordinator at Georgia, to the Hurricanes’ staff as the tight ends and defensive backs coach. Hartley will also serve as the special teams coordinator.
Miami finished the season with an 8–5 record and fell to Washington State 20–14 in the Sun Bowl on Dec. 26.
