Miami football announces multiple coaching staff changes

The Miami football program announced multiple changes on the coaching staff for the 2021 season.

The Miami football program finalized its coaching staff for the 2021 season on Thursday. Head coach Manny Diaz will resume calling the defense, Jess Simpson returns as the assistant head coach and defensive line and DeMarcus Van Dyke was promoted to cornerbacks coach from assistant director of recruiting.

Diaz abdicated the play calling of the defense when he was promoted to head coach for the 2019 season. Co-defensive coordinator Blake Baker called the defense during the first two seasons of the Diaz tenure as head coach. Baker will remain the defensive coordinator, but this has to be seen as a slight demotion.

The Miami defense had by far its worst performance during the five seasons Diaz has been head coach and defensive coordinator. Miami finished 51st nationally allowing 27 points per game and 67th allowing 408.4 yards per game in 2020. The bold move by Diaz could make or break his Miami tenure.

Baker is remaining on the Miami staff as the defensive coordinator with former co-DC, Ephraim Banda who left for the same job at Utah State. The defense will be a partnership between Baker and Diaz. Baker will run the defense during the week with Diaz making the calls during the game. Diaz explained in a press release.

"“Blake will continue to run our defense and I will call the defensive plays on game days, which we feel is our best path to maximizing our strengths on that side of the ball.”"

Simpson previously spent the 2018 season as the defensive line coach for the Miami football program before leaving to accept a job with the Atlanta Falcons. Defensive tackle Gerald Willis was named a second-team All-American under Simpson with 59 tackles, 18 tackles for loss and four sacks under Simpson in 2018.

Miami led the nation averaging 10.46 TFLs per game and was ninth averaging 3.08 sacks per game with Simpson as the DL coach in 2019. Simpson returns to Miami for his second stint after a second stint with Atlanta. Stroud and former Miami cornerbacks coach Mike Rumph have been reassigned in the Miami football program.

Stroud will be a senior football advisor and Rumph will work in the Hurricanes recruiting department according to a report on the official MiamiHurricanes.Com website. VanDyke was a defensive quality control analyst for Miami before working as the assistant director of recruiting positions since 2019.

Miami previously hired Travaris Robinson as the defensive backs coach over the weekend. Robinson will seemingly handle safeties with Van Dyke being promoted to be the CBs coach. Baker will continue to coach linebackers and  Jonathan Patke stays as the strikers coach and special teams coordinator for Miami in 2021.