Duke Coach Manny Diaz on What Fuels Team’s Success

The Duke Blue Devils have been a team that has gone through ebbs and flows throughout the season, creating some doubt outside the locker room.

Head coach Manny Diaz always has confidence in his team's ability, and he expanded on that this week.

While speaking with the media during his press conference on Wednesday, the 51-year head coach explained where the leadership comes from, and how it plays a role in the team's mental state.

Diaz's Thoughts

Sep 20, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Manny Diaz interacts with safety Ma'khi Jones (26) during the first quarter against the NC State Wolfpack at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

"That's a good thing with our squad. That's really never in doubt," Diaz said. "One of the things we talk about is mental toughness in this program and that's a term everybody throws around. But that's not letting your standards change based off of your circumstances. Big time programs don't let their circumstances dictate their standards."

There have been glimpses of Duke demonstrating it can compete with any team in the country. Diaz explained what the best version of Duke can look like through the last five games of the season.

Sep 30, 2023; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke helmet of Duke Blue Devils cornerback Chandler Rivers (0) with its slogan during the second half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

"I think when we leverage the football on defense and tackle well and get off the field on third down is when we're at our best," Diaz said. "Offensively, we've seen it when we're rolling that we're very difficult to stop. Then continue to make plays that we've been making on special teams."

Sep 6, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Manny Diaz during the fourth quarter against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

Despite losing multiple games due to costly and self-inflicted mistakes, Diaz is not focused on those results. Instead, he uses those instances as lessons moving forward in things the Blue Devils can control.

"They're in the past, and we can't do anything about that," Diaz said. "We talked about that failure as data. We use setbacks to inform us. They teach us games, they teach us where we're not whole, they teach us where we are as a program."

Oct 18, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils quarterback Darian Mensah (10) throws the ball during the first half of the game against Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images | Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

"When you become a really good football team, which we are, you're going to always think that your mistakes cost you the game," Diaz continued. "When you're not a good football team, you're going to think nothing you could do could impact winning or losing. That's just a neat step for our program to take, is that where we actually feel like we have ownership over what occurs on any given day."

Duke's mentality this season has been to control what it can control, and if the Blue Devils mirror that mindset on the field this weekend, they have a great chance of beating Clemson on the road.

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