Temple

Manny Diaz Introduced as Temple Football Coach

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Dec 13th, 2018 · 3:32 PM EST

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I just hope the guy stays for more than two seasons. Let’s get some continuity in the Temple football program.

The first thing that jumps out to me is that the Diaz hiring follows the pattern of recent Temple hires. He’s a coordinator coming from a power five conference and a first time head coach. He’s in his early 40s. That fits the mold of what they had in Geoff Collins, Steve Addazio, and even Matt Rhule to an extent. It’s true that Rhule took the gig after moving to the NFL, but he had been with the Owls for half a decade prior. Addazio was more of an offensive guy, but Rhule, Collins, and now Diaz specialize in the defensive side of the game.

Diaz spent the last three years in Miami as Mark Richt’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. That follows stints with Mississippi State and Louisiana Tech in the same role. Tech was sort of a “rebuilding” type of job for him after he was fired by Mack Brown following a couple of disappointing seasons as the Texas Longhorns’ DC, but every other defense he’s worked with has been more or less sound, and he cut his teeth as a position coach on Chuck Amato’s NC State teams of the mid-aughts.

Diaz spoke this afternoon, and you can listen to his introductory presser after the jump:

https://www.facebook.com/TempleOwls/videos/2028797170752236/