It looks like Penn State and its fans’ fears have been realized: Manny Diaz is leaving.
Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports reported Thursday morning that Diaz was on the verge of accepting the Duke head coaching job, and the Action Network’s Brett McMurphy has since confirmed.
If this becomes official, Diaz will be leaving Penn State after two seasons as defensive coordinator.
This past season, Diaz was in charge of America’s No. 1 total defense. So, yes, this is a big blow for Penn State. Here’s how to people of social media reacted.
Duke is finalizing a deal to make Penn State DC Manny Diaz its next head coach, sources tell @YahooSports.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 7, 2023
Tough blow for us. Manny was great for the defense.
— Penn State Talk (@PSURecruitTalk) December 7, 2023
Manny Diaz gave Penn State two fantastic seasons as the defensive coordinator. 2022 had some struggles but man was he lights out this season. He put Penn State in position to compete for a national championship, but his counterpart let him down.
Thank you Manny and good luck at…
— PSU Everything (@PSU_Strong) December 7, 2023
Manny Diaz came in 2 years ago and immediately changed the identity of our defense. I will miss his aggressive style and I hope the next guy has the same mindset.
I wish Manny the best at Duke but this sucks.
— Penn State Talk (@PSURecruitTalk) December 7, 2023
After two years and all the outside noise at the time of the hire, Manny Diaz was a FANTASTIC hire for Penn State. Wishing him nothing but the best moving forward 🦁
— TK 🦁 (@PSU_TK) December 7, 2023
A good place for him to land. Not a lot of high expectations honestly.
— Charlie Foxtrot (@flemingct) December 7, 2023
farewell sweet prince
— suffering pittsburgh sports fan (@Dylan_Means4) December 7, 2023
Could be a mistake for him if he doesn’t win there
— PSUFAN10 (@4ever_PennState) December 7, 2023
Do they want Franklin also, we can send him for cheap.
— Potato Aim (@OneWingedBcat) December 7, 2023
Manny Diaz is a great defensive coach, but Duke is a very tough job. It’s going to be hard for him to prove he’s not just a great DC and be a great head coach there. Not every great coordinator is head coach material.
— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) December 7, 2023
Absolutely fair point, but there is something Pat Kraft can't provide — a head coaching job.
If the time/opportunity is right for Manny Diaz & family, not much Penn State can do. Ultimate emphasis is on countering lateral moves from current PSU coaches, which this would not be. https://t.co/aB8MOYO7G6
— Tyler Donohue (@TDsTake) December 7, 2023
lmaooooooooo
— Fact checkers say (@DanielTWare) December 7, 2023
How many head coaching jobs is this dude gonna get before they realize he’s not good? https://t.co/PR3lh74PrG
— Grant (@grantb08) December 7, 2023
Manny is back. https://t.co/pyPpx0MYot
— Daniel Seahorn (@DanielSeahorn) December 7, 2023
Thank you, Manny Diaz. #WeAre
— Górski Lion (@gorski_lion) December 7, 2023
National media reporting Manny Diaz is top choice at Duke. He did great job as PSU DC. When topic came up late in season, CJF referenced how Brent Pry was patient and landed at Virginia Tech. If Diaz waits another year, would he get better than Duke? Can you win big in🏈at Duke?
— Neil Rudel (@NeilRudel) December 7, 2023
IMHO…Manny Diaz is better suited to be a DC. I don’t mean that as a negative – he’s a natural for that role.
But…I guess we’ll see how he does at Duke. 🤷🏼♂️
— JeffreyTheGreek (@JeffreyTheGreek) December 7, 2023
Ahh fuck https://t.co/k0SAB69Te5
— Mitch Trabinsky (@ragingrady) December 7, 2023
Happy for Manny https://t.co/lXFxLtFRbx
— T.D. Freezy (@DontFollowTFREE) December 7, 2023
listen man, the only coach who called me when I got laid off was Manny, I'm biased and hope he gets all the jobs https://t.co/DyOdC57HeY
— BUM CHILLUPS AKA SPENCER HALL (@edsbs) December 7, 2023
Penn State ranked #1 in total defense, #1 in sacks and #3 in pass defense, rush defense, scoring defense and TFLs this year. Manny Diaz always had aspirations to be a head coach again. Unfortunate for PSU to lose him, fortunate to have him for two years. Duke getting a good one.
— Johnny McGonigal (@jmcgonigal9) December 7, 2023
Manny Diaz and Duke feels an odd fit.
— Mike Farrell (@mfarrellsports) December 7, 2023
IF MANNY DIAZ LEAVES, here's what I wrote 3 weeks ago about a possible successor — before USC hired former Penn State DB D'Anton Lynn away from UCLA pic.twitter.com/ANrMZ6acjj
— Mike Poorman (@PSUPoorman) December 7, 2023
WATCH MANNY'S TEACHABLE MOMENT: A real treat of open windows of Penn State football practices the past 2 yrs. was watching Manny Diaz. An excellent coach is also an excellent teacher; my dad was a h.s. football coach and biology teacher … made an impact doing both. https://t.co/5uRqgu1si2
— Mike Poorman (@PSUPoorman) December 7, 2023
Great choice. He never lost during his time at Temple. https://t.co/A2iEdFId5G
— Matt Harrell (@mharrell_8) December 7, 2023
Well, guess we don’t have to worry about Duke anymore. https://t.co/3G1TVlcakm
— Joe Garcia (@JGJr9) December 7, 2023
Feel like pure shit just want him back https://t.co/qZuldl8N6N
— michael (@mef_57) December 7, 2023
James Franklin’s last 2 hires at DC were Brent Pry and Manny Diaz.. who both went on to be head coaches due to their job as DC’s. I have very little doubt in Franklin’s ability to hire our next DC. #WeAre
— C-PAYNE (@corycpayne) December 7, 2023
Thank you @Coach_MannyDiaz for everything you’ve done for PSU. Set the standard very high for the next guy coming in!
Good luck! https://t.co/U1pRb4VOJc
— Hepner (@DanHep1) December 7, 2023
Manny Diaz taking the #Duke job is an awful decision. Stay one more year at #PennState and you could be the next HC at #Florida, #Auburn, #USC this isn’t the cycle, wait another year.
— Joe Lodanosky (@JoeLodanosky) December 7, 2023
There are a segment of Penn State fans who believe being a coordinator at PSU is better than an HC job at any school that isn’t an Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia etc. I just don’t agree with that.
— Joe Smeltzer (@joesmeltzer775) December 7, 2023
The money speaks for itself. BUT I understand people who are surprised he didn’t hold out for a better job than Duke… He couldn’t get things going at Miami. Not sure what makes him thinks things will be easier at Duke…
— Hasbulla Phantom (@DannyPhantom_02) December 7, 2023
Not saying it is, just many, including myself, think he could've gotten a better job holding on for another year. Either way, stars aligned for us to get him for the 2 years we did.
— Ghost of Tim Riggins (@Linebacker_U) December 7, 2023
Manny was awesome here. However, the one thing I feel pretty damn good about is that we will always field at least a good if not great defense here.
— CJ Scalzetti (@CJGoon) December 7, 2023
No rational person does. And maybe we undervalue Duke Football-I’d have said raise, run in the @CFBPlayoff in ‘24, then a P5 gig at an established football program better fit. But any P5 HC gig better if you want a HC job again.
— Russ McDaid (@RussMcDaid) December 7, 2023
That is the definition of delusion lol
— Zakee Wheatley (@ziggakai) December 7, 2023
i think he should stay another year and land a better job than duke not saying it’s a bad job by any means but think he could get paid more if he would stay one more year but yeah a coordinator role is not better
— jordan (@NlCKSINGLETON) December 7, 2023
We will miss Manny at Penn State. Very grateful for the outstanding coaching and leadership he's brought to us. But Duke is a a special opportunity for him to show what a great head football coach he can be.
— Dave Johnston (@DaveJoh67196576) December 7, 2023
