The Miami football offensive staff will be in place by January 10 according to Manny Diaz during his introductory press conference on Wednesday.
Getting the offensive staff in place by January 10 is critical as that is when the dead period ends for recruiting. This is going to be a critical time for Diaz and the Miami football staff. The traditional National Signing Day is February 6. After the early signing period, the Miami Surge ’19 Class is one of the worst in program history.
The Miami Football Recruiting Class for 2019 was ranked 33rd nationally according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. Diaz and his staff will have nearly four weeks to try and rectify that. First, he needs to get the offensive staff in place to facilitate recruiting.
During his introductory press conference on Wednesday morning, Diaz elaborated that he has three finalists to become the Offensive Coordinator for the Miami football team. The leading candidate has been widely reported to be former North Carolina Head Coach Larry Fedora.
Another name to watch is former Houston Coach Major Applewhite. Applewhite and Diaz coached together at Texas from 2011-13 under Fedora’s replacement at North Carolina, Mack Brown.
Diaz was the Longhorns Defensive Coordinator for the 2011 and ’12 seasons before being fired two games into 2013 after Texas allowed 679 total yards in a 40-21 loss to BYU.
Diaz spoke about where he is in the process of hiring an Offensive Coordinator
during his introductory press conference on Wednesday.
"“Probably right now, I’ve got three finalists for that position and I’ll tell you this, the guy in fourth place would be amazing. That’s how excited I am for that…The timing of when it will happen is when it’s going to happen. I am not interested in it happening fast. I’m interested in it happening right.”"
Diaz was asked if there is a specific style he wants from his Offensive Coordinator. Don’t expect the old pro-style offense that Mark Richt stubbornly refused to change.
"“I want to be is cutting edge. The word I want to be is modern. The idea that I want to be is an offense that creates problems for the defense, that puts defense in conflict, that presents issues before the snap, during the snap, that forces mistakes.”"
Expect a lot more motion, elements of the spread and a much faster style of play. Diaz is known for being aggressive as a Defensive Coordinator. That’s not likely to change on offense.
Miami has numerous four-star players on the offense plus five-star running back
Their talents are likely to be used more efficiently under Diaz. Diaz has also commented in recent days that there is too much talent in South Florida for the Hurricanes offense to rank 105th in the country.
Applewhite and Fedora seem to be the two most obvious finalists to become Diaz’s Offensive Coordinator. The name that is picking up steam from the Miami football fans on social media and from the traditional media is former Miami Hurricanes quarterback Ken Dorsey.
Dorsey was the quarterbacks coach of the Carolina Panthers from 2013-17. He tutored Cam Newton when he won the NFL’s Most Valuable Player Award during the Panthers 2015, 15-1, SuperBowl season. After a year as an Assistant Athletics Director at FIU, Dorsey was hired to be an Offensive Assistant at Appalachian State.