In a series of tweets from David Hale of ESPN on Sunday, Miami Hurricanes head coach Manny Diaz compares favorably with the other nine high profile coaching hires during the 2019 offseason. Manny Diaz is third in overall wins, conference wins and wins against ranked teams among new coaches since 2019.
Some of the biggest strikes against Diaz since being elevated to head coach are the poor losses Miami had in 2019, his 2-4 record against the other coaches on the list and a decline in the Miami winning percentage of -10.42 in the last three seasons when compared to 2016 through the 2018 seasons.
After starting 2-4 this season, Miami defeated number 18 North Carolina State and number 17 Pittsburgh the last two weeks. The Hurricanes also defeated number 18 Louisville in 2020. Cardinals head coach Scott Satterfield was also a 2019 hire after previously being the head coach of Appalachian State.
Ryan Day at Ohio State is the runaway best 2019 hire. The Buckeyes are 27-3 in his two-plus seasons, earned college football playoff appearances in 2019 and 2020 and lost to Alabama in the National Championship Game last season. Mack Brown led North Carolina to a 2020 Orange Bowl berth.
Take a look at all the high(ish) profile coaching hires from 2019. The ONLY one who’s dramatically improved his team over the prior 3-year increment is Mack Brown. Only Ryan Day has more wins vs ranked than Manny Diaz. Only Mack & Day have more total wins or conf wins. pic.twitter.com/eOuVvq2bh1
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) October 31, 2021
Perhaps that lack of significant improvement is cause for Miami to ultimately make a change.
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) October 31, 2021
But the results from Manny’s hiring class should also serve as a reminder: There are rarely obvious improvements. Odds are, it’ll be more of the same.
Miami is 0-3 against North Carolina in the three seasons season Brown and Diaz took over their respective programs. Diaz and the Hurricanes also have a 2019 loss to Georgia Tech in their inaugural season under Geoff Collins. Miami hosts Georgia Tech on Saturday. The Hurricanes and Yellow Jackets did not play in 2020.
In addition to their 2020 victory over Louisville, Diaz and Miami also defeated Louisville and Satterfield in 2019. Every coach is going to be compared to their predecessors. Miami was 26-13 in three seasons under Mark Richt. Richt led Miami to a 19-7 combined record in 2016 and 2017. The Hurricanes were 7-6 in 2018.
Richt retired following the 2018 season. Miami finished 6-7 under Diaz during his first season in 2019. Miami lost to Georgia Tech, FIU and Duke as a double-digit favorite in 2019. The Hurricanes also lost while favored against Virginia Tech in the inaugural season under Diaz. Those losses still irate Miami football fans.
Miami faces a four-game stretch to end the 2021 season where they will be favored against Georgia Tech, at Florida State, versus Virginia Tech and at Duke. If Miami wins all four they will finish 8-4 and put themselves in position for a high-tier ACC Bowl Game. How well Miami finishes in 2021 will dictate Diaz’s future.