Penn State football: Three takeaways from Manny Diaz's introductory press conference
New Penn State football defensive coordinator Manny Diaz spoke with the media for the first time since his appointment on Friday afternoon.
Let’s get into three takeaways from what he had to say.
1. A matching philosphy
James Franklin and Manny Diaz have similar goals on the defensive side of the ball, and that made Diaz a solid fit for the role he now occupies.
Diaz said he feels Franklin established a defensive template during his time at Vanderibilt that he brought with him to Penn Sate.
That involves an aggressive approach. Generating turnovers is among the biggest priorites for both coaches.
Doing so without giving up big plays is another aspect of Franklin’s defensive approach that aligns with Diaz’s identity, he said. So too is being mutliple in your looks on defense.
“When he and I started speaking about who we were and what we wanted to be, we were all sort of speaking the same language,” Diaz said.
2. Diaz ended up at Penn State organically
Following a strange saga that ultimately resulted in Diaz departing his head coaching job at Miami, he said he wasn’t sure if he’d coach this season.
Everything was on the table, he said.
“When you come out of a situation like what we came out of at Miami, you don’t really know where you’re going to go next,” Diaz said.
Diaz has spent this week observing as he tries to immerse himself in the Penn State defense, recruiting, and all of the other duties expected to him.
He didn’t seek the Penn State job out, he said. He knew that he wanted to coach at a school with likeminded people, where he had an opporutnity to win and play great defense while doing so.
The job in Happy Valley met those qualifications.
“If you’re talking about premier defensive coordinator jobs across the country, Penn State has to be up there with the best of them,” he said.
RELATED: How, and why, Manny Diaz decided to be the new defensive coordinator at Penn State
3. Diaz’s experience as a head coach will prove valuable
Diaz’s arrival gives Penn State an assistant coach with head coaching experience, something the Nittany Lions haven’t had very often.
Diaz explained that he feels equipped to help Franklin better now as an assistant because he has the additional perspective from his time as a head coach.
“What you want is you realize there’s so much on a head coach’s plate,” he said. “There are so many things that come at you in a 24-hour day. What you ultimately want out of your staff is to be as low maintenance as possible.”
To Diaz, that means ensuring that things stay organized on his side of the ball. It also entails monitoring things like off-the-field behavior, and being proactive in recruiting.
“There are only so many decisions one man can make in a single day,”
