Manny Diaz is perfect coach to lead Miami in post-Mark Richt era

Hours after the surprise retirement of Mark Richt, Miami has hired former Manny Diaz who only just left Miami to take the head coaching job at Temple.

It didn’t take long for Manny Diaz to return home. Hours after Mark Richt retired and just 17 days after Diaz moved on up to Pennsylvania to take his first head coaching job with the Temple Owls, the Miami Hurricanes have officially hired their former defensive coordinator to take his second head coaching gig.

Diaz is a Miami native, born and raised down in South Florida. Even though he went to college at Florida State, it’s hard for anyone in college football right now to be a better fit for the Hurricanes than the dude that is the son of a former Miami city mayor and is a rising star in the coaching ranks.

“Miami is home. The University of Miami is home. The U has truly been ‘the job’ for me since I first got into coaching,” said Diaz in the announcement from Miami. “Having worked here over the past three years, I came to understand what it means to be part of ‘The U’ and came to appreciate the passion and commitment to excellence of all who proudly call themselves Canes. We will restore the football program to its place among the nation’s elite and we will do it with hard work, dedicated coaches, and outstanding student-athletes. I’m excited about working with Blake and his team to make that happen.”

And even though Miami’s new head coach has no issue job shopping, it’s ultimately unlikely that he’ll be leaving his home anytime soon. He’s shown in the past that he’ll do what makes the most sense for advancing his career, but he has one of the most intriguing and enticing jobs in college football at the moment.

And it looks like Miami is already plenty willing to invest in Diaz:

Temple may get a chance to get some payback in the future though:

But, all things considered, Miami struck gold by getting Manny Diaz like this while Temple was left in the lurch. The Canes quickly replaced the retired Richt with a coach who will bring plenty of buzz and excitement back to their program. The Hurricanes got a guy that, though not necessarily loyal to other programs, could very well be loyal to them for the long-term.

Manny Diaz is returning home. He’s back where he seemingly wants to be to coach his hometown college football team. Miami moved quick and brought him back and he was more than willing to choose a high-profile program in South Florida over a team that requires constant building and patience in Pennsylvania.

There’s going to be some criticism about that, but none of it really matters.

He left Mississippi State in 2010 after a successful stint as their defensive coordinator to go to Austin, Texas, where he ultimately flamed out. After rebuilding his brand and reputation with Louisiana Tech for a season and he ditched them to return to Starkville. He was there for another year before he’d ultimately leave again to move home to Miami in 2016. And now, most recently, he left Temple after being there for barely over two weeks.

None of that truly matters, though, because it’s unlikely that Diaz would leave a program that he is fond of that also happens to be a sleeping giant at the moment.

With the fertile recruiting grounds at Diaz’s fingertips and the rich tradition that the U has, there’s plenty of reason to believe that a young, up and coming coach could make them successful once again. And if Diaz can make Miami a winner again, why would he really leave a good team in his hometown?

If the Hurricanes are willing to invest in Diaz and he wins plenty in the long run, this is a pairing that could last for a while.