Duke head coach Manny Diaz, who once left Temple after less than three weeks as head coach, hypocritically said about former Blue Devil quarterback Darian Mensah transferring to Miami, “...if there’s going to be a business and if there’s going to be contracts, then the expectations of those contracts are honored."
Diaz grew up in Miami as a Hurricanes fan, the son of the Mayor. Despite graduating from Florida State, coaching Miami was always the dream job for Diaz. Mark Richt hired Diaz as his defensive coordinator in 2016, a job he held through 2018.
When Richt retired after Diaz accepted the Temple job in 2018, he returned to Miami to become the Hurricanes' head coach. Diaz was 21-15 and 16-9 in three seasons as the Miami head coach. Diaz was fired by Miami in December 2021. Mario Cristobal has significantly elevated Miami in his three seasons.
Mensah announced his entry into the transfer portal from Duke the day before it closed in January. Duke initially sued Mensah over his intention to transfer and back out of a multi-year Name, Image and Likeness contract, but eventually settled out of court shortly after that.
NEW: Manny Diaz shared his thoughts on Darian Mensah and Duke's new QB room with On3's @whalexander_⬇️
— On3 (@On3) April 20, 2026
“...if there’s going to be a business and if there’s going to be contracts, then the expectations of those contracts are honored.”
Story: https://t.co/ikt3MkeHPe pic.twitter.com/e6B76ETD9a
Adding their own transfer QB
When Mensah entered the Transfer Portal, Duke then added their own transfer QB, Walker Eget from San Jose State. Eget is recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament and did not participate in spring practice. Every transfer or coaching change sets up a domino effect from the major programs on down.
Duke won the ACC in the only season Mensah played with the Blue Devils after transferring from Tulane. Despite being a Power Conference champion, Duke did not receive a College Football Playoff berth with a record of eight wins and four losses after the ACC Championship Game.
Mensah transferred to Miami with his top receiver at Duke, Cooper Barkate. Mensah will have a significantly better opportunity to win a National Championship as the Miami QB than he would have at Duke. Miami added a transfer starting QB for the third consecutive season after Cam Ward in 2024 and Carson Beck in 2025.
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