Miami fires Manny Diaz with Mario Cristobal expected to replace him
By John Buhler
The Miami football program has fired head coach Manny Diaz with all signs pointing to Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal to be his replacement in Coral Gables.
As no surprise, former Miami football head coach Manny Diaz has been relieved of his duties after three seasons at the helm.
Diaz went 21-15 in his three years since taking over from Mark Richt. He had initially taken the job at Temple, but came back to Coral Gables to replace his mentor who retired after the 2018 college season. While this move was expected, it further paves the pathway for Oregon head coach and former Hurricanes offensive tackle Mario Cristobal to leave Eugene to come back to South Florida.
Replacing Diaz with Cristobal makes sense, but the manner in which Miami went about doing so was incredibly uncomfortable the entire time. Diaz deserved better than being made out to look like a fool.
BREAKING: Miami coach Manny Diaz has been informed he has been let go, per source. He was 21-15 in three seasons at UM. The move paves the way for the Canes to hire Oregon’s Mario Cristobal as Miami’s next head coach.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) December 6, 2021
Miami fires former head coach Manny Diaz to hire Mario Cristobal
Miami president Julio Frenk commented on the decision to part ways with Diaz after three seasons. Keep in mind that Miami has yet to name an athletic director since parting ways with Blake James. The expectation is for Clemson athletic director Dan Radakovich to come back home to his alma mater as well and partner with Cristobal to help rebuilding the Miami football program.
Miami president Julio Frenk on Manny Diaz firing: “We are grateful to Coach Diaz for his many contributions to our campus community and to his native South Florida, and for the strong leadership and exemplary character he exhibited during his tenure at the University”
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) December 6, 2021
The big thing to pay attention to is Miami now has the financial resources to go big game hunting for a head-coaching candidate again. That newfound UHealth money is helping the university make their athletic programs a priority once again. While the Hurricanes still play off-campus at Hard Rock Stadium, getting a home-run hire at home coach like Cristobal is massive for them.
Lastly, no matter how well the upcoming Cristobal era goes in Coral Gables, it will be difficult to forget how poorly Miami treated Diaz and the previous coaching staff down the stretch. These guys were out there recruiting players to The U up until very recently. Diaz may not have been the answer for the football program, but no coach deserves to be humiliated like this whatsoever.
Miami may have gotten their guy, but the karmic implications stemming from this are not great.
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