Manny Diaz gets D-/F after first season as Miami football head coach
Following his first season as the head coach of the Miami football program, Manny Diaz received poor grades from national football writers following the Hurricanes 6-6 season.
Manny Diaz succeeded Mark Richt in December 2018 when the former Hurricanes quarterback abruptly retired three days after Miami was crushed 35-3 by Wisconsin in the pinstripe bowl. Diaz created a lot of excitement for the Miami football program during the 2019 season via social media updates.
Diaz sent out updates about transfers and new coaching hires and stunts like arriving at a fan event on a yacht. The hype created unrealistic expectations by the Miami fanbase. The 6-6 season that culminated with losses to FIU and Duke and had Miami lose three games as a two-touchdown favorite including those two and Georgia Tech.
The Hurricanes became the first team in over 40 years in college football to lose three games as a two TD or more favorite in the same season. The 6-6 record, poor performances as a huge favorite and abysmal finish to the season led to Diaz to get extremely poor grades nationally.
Miami Hurricanes Football
A pair of national college football reporters this week who passed out grades to first-year FBS head coaches. Barrett Sallee of CBS Sports gave Diaz an F. Sallee stated “A bowl is nice but you can’t lose to FIU and a transitioning Georgia Tech team. Not at Miami.” The poor grades were not finished.
Nick Bromberg and Sam Cooper and Yahoo Sports graded Diaz slightly better than Sallee giving the Hurricanes first-year head coach a D-. Bromberg and Cooper elaborated more than Sallee staying that the 2019 season might be even more disappointing than 2018 even with a bowl game win.
Bromberg and Cooper also discussed the three-game winning streak in the middle to the season and the losses to FIU and Duke to end the regular season.
"Miami: Manny Diaz2018 record (Mark Richt): 7-62019 record: 6-6Miami can match last season’s disappointing record with a bowl game win. And you can argue that 2019 has been more disappointing than 2018. Diaz’s first year in charge of his hometown team was ugly to start and even uglier to finish.Miami won three straight games to pull to 6-4 before an embarrassing 30-24 loss to Florida International at Marlins Park in the penultimate week of the season and a 27-17 loss Saturday to a Duke team that had already eliminated from a bowl. Diaz enters 2020 needing a quick turnaround.Grade: D-"
Manny Diaz looks like a North Pole whistleblower reading a prepared statement to the media about years of ignored OSHA violations pic.twitter.com/8qGoVdUaRM
— Brody Logan (@BrodyLogan) December 1, 2019
In the post mortem following the loss to Duke Diaz has stated that he is confident that the 2020 recruiting class can help Miami turn their fortunes around. The Hurricanes fanbase is skeptical and broken down by all the promises they have heard in the last 10-15 years.
Only the 2017 Miami team had the type of season that was expected from the Hurricanes when they joined the ACC in 2004. Miami won their only outright ACC Coastal Division title that season and began the year with 10 straight wins. Losses in their final three games thwarted any good feelings.
Next. Manny Diaz focused on changing Miami culture not coaching staff. dark
A 33-17 loss in the 2018 opener to LSU seemed to be the beginning of the end for Richt. Diaz desperately needs a good December to get the fanbase for the Miami football program on his side. A bowl win and signing a strong recruiting class is critical to earning the trust of the Miami fans and boosters going forward.