Penn State coordinator Manny Diaz is 'the focus' of Duke's head coaching search, ESPN says
Will Penn State have the same defensive coordinator this weekend that it has today? It’s a question that has been pondered this week. But, now a timeline has been attached to it. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports on Thursday morning that Duke has zeroed in on Lions second-year play caller Manny Diaz during its search for a new head coach.
“Sources: Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz has emerged as the focus of Duke’s head coaching search,” Thamel writes. “A decision is expected in the next 24 hours.”
Time is of the essence for the Blue Devils. They have been without a permanent head coach for two weeks after Mike Elko left for Texas A&M. Diaz is familiar with the ACC. He spent three seasons as the head coach at Miami, of course. When he was unceremoniously let go in Coral Gables, he came to Penn State and shined. His pair of defenses in State College were among the nation’s best. And, he never hid his desire about becoming a head coach again.
“In terms of ambition, yeah, I’d like to be a head coach again,” Diaz said in late December 2022. “I enjoy it. I think there’s some unfinished business with the way things happened a year ago. But I think the second time around, I think you’re a little wiser in the opportunity and you don’t necessarily let the opportunity choose you.
“I think you choose the opportunity a little bit differently. And so when you don’t have a platform that you feel comfortable where you’re at, you may feel more desperate to just lunge for something. So that’s where I’m very blessed that I’ve got a place where I know we can play great defense for a long time.”
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Penn State could have two new play callers in 2024
One is already here, of course. The Lions hired Andy Kotelnicki to be the new offensive coordinator after they fired Mike Yurcich in November. The former Kansas Jayhawk is already in State College. But, he will not have a role in the bowl game prep or game day play calling.
“Obviously we made a change, and we have co-coordinators, and they did a great job for the last two games of the year,” James Franklin said on Sunday.
“We got Andy here. Andy will be here more just taking everything in, getting a feel for how we operate the culture, very similar to when we hired Manny, be able to be here, be around our players, be able to sit in all meetings, be able to see strengths and weaknesses so that literally the day the bowl game ends, he can jump in with both feet and get going.”
If Diaz were to leave, co-coordinators would handle things on defense, as well. Time will tell, however, if that will be necessary. But, the clock is ticking to find out.
