Former Hurricanes coach Manny Diaz expected to be named Duke’s new coach
A familiar face could be walking the visitor’s sideline at Hard Rock Stadium next year.
Former Miami coach Manny Diaz is “finalizing a deal” to become Duke’s new head coach, according to Yahoo Sports report. Former Blue Devils coach Mike Elko left Duke to become the new coach at Texas A&M.
Duke will play Miami in Miami Gardens in 2024.
Diaz spent three seasons at UM as Mark Richt’s defensive coordinator. He left after the 2018 season to become Temple’s head coach, but after Richt retired, he returned to the Hurricanes to become Miami’s new coach before coaching a game for the Owls.
Diaz went 21-15 in three seasons as the Hurricanes’ coach. Miami fired him after a 7-5 season in 2021 so it could hire current coach Mario Cristobal from Oregon.
After UM let him go, Diaz went to the Big Ten and became Penn State’s defensive coordinator. Under Diaz, the Nittany Lions have had a top-10 defense in the nation the past two years.
This season, Penn State had the nation’s No. 3 defense, allowing just 11.4 points per game. They only surrendered 223.3 yards per game, which was the best average in the nation.
