Adam Rittenberg surveyed industry sources for coaches positioned to draw attention for major openings this cycle. The group includes Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson, former Hurricanes head coach Manny Diaz and former Miami coordinators Rhett Lashlee and Blake Baker.
Shannon Dawson could be coaching his way into a head coaching job
ESPN put Miami's fourth-year offensive coordinator among the Power 4 assistants expected to get head coaching interest. It's because of his work with Cam Ward, Carson Beck and now Darian Mensah.
Miami led the country in scoring at 43.9 points per game and total offense in 2024 while Ward became the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft. The offense looked different with Beck in 2025, but Miami still secured three College Football Playoff wins and went to the national championship game.
Under Dawson the Hurricanes have produced a 3,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher and a 1,000-yard receiver in each of the past two seasons.
He has been an FBS offensive coordinator at West Virginia, Kentucky, Southern Miss, Houston and Miami, so it is starting to feel like his time is coming.
Manny Diaz has rebuilt his stock since Miami fired him
The Hurricanes fired Diaz after the 2021 season (21-15 record in three years) and hired Cristobal from Oregon. Diaz then ran Penn State's defense for two seasons before Duke hired him as its head coach. Diaz now has two straight nine-win seasons, and Duke won the ACC in 2025.
ESPN now has him in the group of P4 coaches who could still move to a better program.
Rhett Lashlee has turned into one of the ACC's top coaches
Lashlee was Miami's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under Diaz in 2020 and 2021. D'Eriq King became one of the ACC's most productive quarterbacks in that system.
Lashlee left after 2021 to take the SMU job and is 38-16 in four seasons. He won the AAC in 2023, took the Mustangs to the CFP in their first ACC season back in 2024, then beat Miami in overtime last year.
Blake Baker has worked his way back into head coaching conversations
Baker was one of Diaz's first major hires at Miami. He was defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in 2019 and 2020, left for LSU, went to Missouri, and then returned to LSU as defensive coordinator in 2024. He is among Power 4 coordinators who could get a head coaching job.
He interviewed at Tulane and Memphis after last season, but stayed when Lane Kiffin took over.
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