How Manny Diaz, Duke's New Head Coach, Thrived at Penn State

Diaz leaves for Duke after bringing the Nittany Lions' defense to the "next level," as James Franklin said.

Manny Diaz was driving through Ohio between recruiting stops in May 2022, a few weeks after finishing his first set of spring practices at Penn State, explaining what drew him to State College. Diaz still was learning his way around the defense but knew what made Penn State football so appealing. His reasoning fused past and present, tradition and culture, James Franklin and those who preceded him. And at the center was defense.

"There are a certain few places where not just the tradition of the overall program matters, but the tradition of playing great defense really matters," Diaz said in an interview. "And then I think, piggybacking on that, really it's coach Franklin and the way that he runs his program. You can tell culturally — there was something that I didn't know what it was — but there was something that has resulted in Penn State playing a very high level of defense, or his defense going back to Vanderbilt and playing at a very high level.

"And I've seen that around college football. There are some programs with great tradition but, for whatever reason no matter who they are, they never seem to get it right as a defense. And that somehow speaks to you. You can't really identify it from the outside, but there's something culturally on the inside that goes against what it takes to play great defense. Here, you knew there was something going on inside that gave you a chance to succeed defensively."

Diaz now leaves Penn State having exceeded expectations over two seasons as defensive coordinator. Diaz, who will return to head coaching at Duke, which announced the hire Thursday night. Diaz operated one of the nation's top defenses this season, fusing his pressure-based, gap-sound, turnover-producing scheme with a deep spring of defensive line and secondary talent. Thirteen Nittany Lions earned All-Big Ten defensive honors, including first-teamers Chop Robinson, Adisa Isaac and Abdul Carter. Every Penn State starter was recognized, underscoring how adroitly Diaz stationed his talent.

Penn State's defensive numbers were exceptional this season. The Lions led the nation in total defense at 223.2 yards per game, the fewest any defense has allowed since Alabama in 2011. Penn State also led the nation in sacks (48) and fewest first downs allowed (151) while ranking second in pass defense (153.6 ypg), run defense (69.7 ypg) and turnovers gained (24). Penn State ranked third in scoring defense (11.4 ppg). The Lions allowed 24 points or fewer in 17 consecutive games, the nation's longest such active streak.

Diaz accomplished that by winning over his players with a system that stressed pressure and turnover creation and revolved them freely through it. Last year, safety Ji'Ayir Brown thrived in the "Prowler" package as a blitz specialist. This year, defensive ends Dani Dennis-Sutton, Chop Robinson and Adisa Isaac reveled in pressuring quarterbacks in a package that deployed them simultaneously.

"It's a fun defense, man," Dennis-Sutton said after the Lions' shutout win over Iowa. "It's a fun defense."

But the fun started slowly. During that first set of spring drills, Diaz was beside himself after a practice in which the defense didn't tackle well. "I come to Penn State, and we don't want to tackle?" Diaz asked in a post-practice meeting. He wanted to know how that could happen at Linebacker U. Players in that meeting said Diaz was near tears. After their next practice, when the defense tackled well, Diaz smiled and brought snacks to the meeting.

“I didn't think I could find a coach that was more intense than Brent Pry,” linebacker Curtis Jacobs said. “And I definitely found one."

Manny Diaz is leaving Penn State after two seasons as defensive coordinator to become head coach at Duke :: Dan Rainville/USA Today Sports Network

After Pry left for Virginia Tech in late 2021, Franklin knew he faced a bidding duel when approaching Diaz. That's why he did so quickly after Miami had fired Diaz. "When I hired Manny, there were three or four [coaches] out there that had that track record, and probably eight schools trying to get him," the Penn State coach said.

Over the past two seasons, several Penn State players described Diaz with the word "crazy." Robinson called Diaz a "crazy dad." But they took to Diaz's approach, because he made playing defense fun and produced results.

“Coach Pry would chill sometimes, but Manny treats every practice like it’s the Super Bowl,” Jacobs said. “And you need that, because once you see your coach really cares about this thing, it's hard for you not to care. There’s no way your coach should care more about this football thing than you should."

Diaz leaves for Duke having taken Penn State's defense to "the next level," as Franklin said. The program knew it would lose Diaz eventually, since he has been open about wanting to be a head coach again. But Diaz also savored returning to a position room, especially after his three seasons at Miami. "This past month has been a hell of a year," he said after being hired at Penn State. Spending two years at Penn State allowed him to tap his coaching passion once more.

"It's hard to relate to in other aspects of the business world," Diaz said in that 2022 interview. "If you're great at sales, the best salesman in the company, and they put you in a management position and you don't get to sell anymore, you're in charge of a bunch salesmen. It's not the same job that you were great at and maybe passionate about.

"...  [Being a coordinator] allows you to narrow your focus. I think coaching a room, that's the big thing. It's hard to have a deep level of connection with 120 players. That's just math, right?"

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AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.