Manny Diaz will be the next head coach at Temple, sources told FootballScoop on Wednesday. Pete Thamel first reported the news.
In his third year as Miami's defensive coordinator, Diaz fits the profile of recent Owls head coaches, as Al Golden, Steve Addazio, Matt Rhule and Geoff Collins were all first-time head coaches when they arrived in Philadelphia.
After taking over a unit that ranked 86th nationally in yards per play allowed in 2015, Diaz's defenses -- famous for popularizing the Turnover Chain -- have never ranked lower than 12th in that metric in his three seasons in South Beach.
While Miami's 2018 season as a whole was a disappointment -- the Hurricanes began the year in the top-10 and finished the regular season at 7-5 -- Diaz's defense soared. His unit stands third in yards per play allowed (4.16), seconds in total defense (268.3 yards per game), first in passing defense (140.8 yards per game) and 15th in scoring (18.2 points per game).
Prior to Miami, Diaz coordinated defenses at Mississippi State (twice), Texas, Louisiana Tech & Middle Tennessee. A Florida State graduate, Diaz jumped into coaching as a Seminoles graduate assistant in 1998-99, helping FSU win its second national championship in 1999.
He is set to take over a Temple program that went 15-10 in two seasons under Collins before he departed to take over as head coach at Georgia Tech.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.