Miami football has next Meyer, Saban, Swinney in Manny Diaz

In less than two months as Head Coach Manny Diaz has made a major impact on the Miami football program. One national recruiting expert called Diaz a young Urban Meyer, Nick Saban or Dabo Swinney.

The impact Manny Diaz has made in a short period of time on the Miami football program has been immeasurable. Diaz has fired and hired an entirely new offensive coaching staff, hired his replacement as Defensive Coordinator and fired the majority of the recruiting staff.

In addition to the staff changes, Diaz and the new football staff have been very aggressive in adding new talent to the Miami football roster. Six players have matriculated at Miami through the transfer portal. The Hurricanes also signed four players to National Letters of Intent in February.

Diaz’s makeup and experience make him ready to be a Head Coach. Diaz has been a Defensive Coordinator since 2006. His history of running defenses in the Big XII, SEC, ACC and with two schools in Conference USA have allowed him to see a variety of different offenses and recruit players in different parts of the country.

National recruiting expert Tom Lemming told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald that Diaz is a young Urban Meyer, Nick Saban or Dabo Swinney.

"“He is a young version of Dabo Swinney, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer…Manny is one of the best recruiters in the country…Miami will be a top 10 team next year [with their recruiting class]. Manny is enthusiastic, hard working and aggressive.Some coaches have golf as hobby. Manny will have recruiting as a hobby. He’s very personable, connects with the kids a lot better than most in his profession.”"

Diaz’s history is closer to Saban’s than it is to Meyer or Swinney’s. Diaz began his coaching career as a Graduate Assistant at Florida State in 1998 and 99. He moved to North Carolina State for the 2000 season where he was a Graduate Assistant in Raleigh for two seasons.

Diaz earned his first full-time coaching job as the linebackers coach for the Wolfpack in 2002-03. He switched to safeties and special teams in 2004 and 05. Diaz’s first job as a Defensive Coordinator was at Middle Tennessee State from 2006-09.

The job with the Blue Raiders eventually led Diaz to Defensive Coordinator positions with Mississippi State, Texas, Lousiana Tech and finally Miami.

Saban coached defensive backs and linebackers for 15 years in college and the NFL before he was hired for his first Head Coaching Job at Toledo in 1990. Saban left Toledo to become the Defensive Coordinator under Bill Belichick with the Cleveland Browns.

Except for a two-year stint with the Dolphins in 2005 and ’06, Saban has been a collegiate Head Coach in stints with Michigan State, LSU and Alabama since 1995.

Diaz and his new staff have already made an impact on the recruiting trail. The Hurricanes currently rank third in the 2020 recruiting rankings. They salvaged the 2019 class with transfers and some quality late additions. The only thing left to do is to be as impressive on the field as they have been off of it.