Manny Diaz has wasted no time in making changes throughout the Miami football coaching staff that Mark Richt had left behind. After firing the entire offensive staff on Monday, Diaz made another big move by hiring Louisiana Tech’s Defensive Coordinator on Wednesday.
The report of Diaz hiring Louisiana Tech’s Blake Baker as the Defensive Coordinator for the Miami Football team was first published by Football Scoop. The move is Diaz’s first for the defensive staff and overrides Richt’s promotion of safeties coach Ephraim Banda and Outside Linebackers Coach Jonathan Patke to Co-Defensive Coordinators.
Diaz’s Changes in three days on the job shows his willingness to make the changes that Richt refused to. Richt retired in large part due to losing a power struggle that mandated he make changes to his offensive coaching staff. Banda and Patke’s promotions came after a National Search was going to take place to replace Diaz.
Baker was a linebacker at Tulane starting five games as a Junior in 2002 and one as a Senior in 2003. He has been the Defensive Coordinator at Louisiana Tech since 2015. Baker was the Safeties Coach for the Bulldogs in 2014 under Diaz. Baker and Diaz were also on Mack Brown’s staff at Texas together.
Diaz was the Defensive Coordinator and Baker worked as a Graduate Assistant for linebackers and defensive backs. Banda previously worked with Diaz and Baker at Texas and Patke at Texas and Mississippi State.
Sources: Manny Diaz has hired his defensive coordinator https://t.co/9lBHGSeLyD
— FootballScoop (@FootballScoop) January 3, 2019
It will be interesting to see how the reshuffling of the defensive staff affects Banda and Patke’s jobs as well as their psyches. What has to be seen as nothing else but a demotion has to be tough for Banda and Patke’s short-lived tenure as Defensive Coordinators.
Louisiana Tech had one of the nation’s best defenses in 2018 under Baker’s guidance. The Bulldogs were 27th in total defense, 39th in scoring defense and 29th in pass defense. Baker will work closely with Diaz to keep Miami as a top five defense for 2019.
Interesting storyline with regards to the Hurricanes' defense.
— Josh White (@_JoshRWhite) January 3, 2019
In 2012, Blake Baker and Ephraim Banda both served as defensive graduate assistants at the University of Texas under then defensive coordinator Manny Diaz. They will will reunite in Coral Gables.
Diaz said during an appearance on the Joe Rose Show on Monday morning that he will not be calling the defensive plays during games. He mentioned it would be someone he trusted. That will clearly be Baker.
Football Scoop stated that Diaz had planned on hiring Baker at Temple before he abruptly returned to Miami on Sunday night. Richt’s retirement is a big break for Baker and a missed opportunity for Banda and Patke.
Baker’s defenses had mixed success at Louisiana Tech. According to the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson, the Bulldogs finished “53rd, 70th, 65th and 33rd in yards allowed per game 2015-18.” The most impressive stat for Louisiana Tech with Baker leading the defense is that they were fourth in the nation in sacks per game in 2018.
Baker joins a young Miami Hurricanes Defensive Coaching staff as Tweeted by Jackson’s Herald colleague David Wilson. Baker and Patke are 32, Banda 37 and Cornerbacks Coach Mike Rumph 39. Defensive Line Coach Jess Simpson is listed as having graduated from Auburn in 1993. That would make him about 43.