Duke reportedly finalizes deal to hire Manny Diaz as next head coach

Manny Diaz will be Duke’s next head coach, according to ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg. Diaz has spent the last two seasons as Penn State’s defensive coordinator, helping lead a unit that’s been regarded as one of college football’s best.

Penn State ended the regular season as the No. 10 ranked team in the College Football Playoff Rankings. The team is set to face No. 11 Ole Miss in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on December 30. However, it appears that while preparing to face the Rebels’ offense, Diaz was also preparing for a return to head coaching.

Diaz was also the head coach of Miami, leading the Hurricanes to a 21-15 record in his three seasons at the helm before being fired in 2021. Before that, Diaz made stops at various programs as a defensive coordinator including at Miami, Mississippi State, and Texas.

Diaz has been a pivotal piece to Penn State’s recent success, ranking first in the country allowing just 223.3 yards per game. Additionally, Penn State gave up just 11.4 points per game in the 2023 campaign, the third-least in the nation.

Along with his defensive expertise, Diaz brings no shortage of ACC experience with him to Duke. Diaz began his coach career as a graduate assistant at Florida State before spending two more seasons in the same role at NC State.

After a few grueling years, Diaz became the safeties coach and special teams coordinator in his last two seasons at NC State in 2004-05. In total, Diaz spent 14 years in the ACC between his time with the Wolfpack, Hurricanes and Seminoles.

Manny Diaz has big shoes to fill

While Diaz is no stranger to the ACC, he isn’t inheriting an easy situation. Duke notably lost star quarterback Riley Leonard to the transfer portal shortly after the regular season. Now, Diaz must rebuild Duke from the ground up.

Diaz will replace Mike Elko, who became Texas A&M’s new head coach in late November. Similarly, Elko also had multiple years of defensive coordinator experience before being named Duke’s head coach in 2021 making stops Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, and others. 

Elko boosted Duke to its first nine-win season since 2014 in his first campaign with the Blue Devils. Nonetheless, the Blue Devils’ record dropped to 7-5 this past season, following a 4-0 start to the year.

It’s difficult to fault the team. In a season riddled with injuries, Elko still managed to send Duke to a second-straight bowl game while boasting the ACC’s third-best scoring defense that held opponents to just 19.8 points per game.