Manny Diaz on Bobby Bowden's influence on him

Every stop in the coaching career of Manny Diaz has led him to his ultimate goal of becoming a head coach at the University of Miami. However, the man who gave him his start was none other than Bobby Bowden.

After graduating from Florida State University, Diaz began his coaching career by joining Bowden’s staff as a graduate assistant in 1998. In two years with the Seminoles, Diaz reached the highest of highs with Bowden, including a victory in the 2000 Sugar Bowl, bringing a national championship to Tallahassee.

Following the recent passing of Bowden, Diaz spoke on the influence one of college football’s legendary head coaches had on him.

“There’s a great saying that not all great men are great men. Coach Bowden was beyond a great man,” Diaz said, via CFB on Fox’s YouTube channel. “To be able to learn at that time, from a man who has not only won so many games, but to see how he led that football team, how he led that staff, with the humility, the grace, the selflessness, it was remarkable to see.

“It was something that as a young coach, it was so impressionable you wanted to be able to incorporate that at every other job, at every other place that you got a chance to work.”

Moreover, Diaz was lucky enough to work with Bowden, even if it was only for a couple seasons. It’s obvious that the Florida State legend shaped the Miami head coach’s vision on both coaching and life.

‘That’s your north star. That’s what you want to be.’

As a graduate assistant at Florida State, working for one of college football’s icons was a surreal experience for Diaz. Earlier this month, he elaborated on how he was everything young coaches wanted to be.

“I was so fortunate that my introduction to this profession was sitting in a staff meeting with Bobby Bowden everyday,” Diaz said, via the Miami Herald. “The person you saw on TV, selflessness, humility, leadership … that was the exact same guy he was in the building. The way he led that program with a lack of ego at that time, when you’re a young coach that’s your north star, that’s who you want to be.

“The fact that he won as many games as he won, and also was who he was as a man, shows you can do both. You can win a ton of games, and be a great person like coach Bowden is.”

As Diaz looks to return the Miami Hurricanes to the national spotlight, he uses the lessons learned from Bobby Bowden to shape his outlook. When you’re rebuilding a program, basing it off of standards set by one of the greatest of all-time is a pretty good place to start.

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