Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Defense gets 2 new leaders
UM’s Richt promotes co-defensive coordinators
CORAL GABLES — Shortly after his former defensive coordinator accepted the head coaching job at Temple, Miami Hurricanes coach Mark Richt announced he’d launched a “national search” to replace Manny Diaz.
That search, ultimately, didn’t last very long and didn’t have to go far, with Richt opting to promote two of Diaz’s top assistants — Ephraim Banda and Jonathan Patke — to help run the Hurricanes’ defense moving forward.
While Banda and Patke will take over as co-defensive coordinators, there is also now an expanded role for Hurricanes defensive line coach Jess Simpson, who will be an associate head coach under Richt.
And Tuesday, after the Hurricanes wrapped up one of their first practices in preparation for their Dec. 27th matchup with Wisconsin in the Pinstripe Bowl, Richt said he felt the promotions were not only well deserved for his defensive staffers, but essential in helping keep Miami’s second-ranked defense among the top units in the nation.
“Knowing Manny took the opportunity to be at Temple, we had a decision to make and I didn’t see much broken on defense so I didn’t want to sit there and start from scratch,” Richt said. “Our kids know the terminology, our kids know the values and they know the pillars of success. They know how to tackle the way we want to tackle. There’s so much carryover that was so important in my mind. That’s why I did what I did.”
Diaz, who was at Tuesday’s practice in Coral Gables before heading to Philadelphia to handle his responsibilities as Temple’s coach during the Early Signing Period, couldn’t help but rave about the decision Richt made — even if it meant he wouldn’t be able to take his top two assistants with him as he begins his first stint as a head coach.
Diaz brought both Banda and Patke with him from Mississippi State in 2015. There, Banda served as one of his defensive assistants, while Patke was a graduate assistant. The 37-year-old Banda, who will call plays for Miami’s defense after the Pinstripe Bowl, also worked with Diaz at Texas while the 32-year-old Patke, who just completed his first season as Miami’s outside linebackers coach, worked with Diaz at Louisiana Tech in 2014.
“The fact that coach Richt was willing to give those guys their chance says a lot about him. But I think he understands that there’s a culture that’s here,” Diaz said. And everything is about the players. … The players are the ones that play, the players have made all the tackles, they’ve done all the great things. So what’s best for them? What’s best for them is to not have them come in and realize the world’s changed, not have them come in and have them realize that there’s a different way of doing things or a different defensive scheme.
“They can all rest easy because they know what works, they know it takes to play great defense and they know that coach Banda, coach Patke, coach Simpson, coach [Mike] Rumph … those guys know the formula that works for Miami. And so, to me, I’m very proud for those two guys personally, but also for UM.
I want to see this defense succeed for the long term.”
So how will Miami’s new codefensive coordinators split up the work?
Banda, who has been the Hurricanes’ safeties coach for three years, will call the plays he said, with input from Patke and the rest of Miami’s defensive coaches, including Rumph and Simpson. Simpson, meanwhile, will advise Richt on several issues the coach described as “big item stuff.”
The system, Banda noted, is what the Hurricanes have done under Diaz and in that sense, the thought is why fix something that isn’t broken — and even as the Hurricanes have struggled to a 7-5 regular-season record, the defense hasn’t been broken.
Along with being the No. 2 overall defense in the nation during the regular season after allowing just 268.3 yards per game, Miami had the nation’s top-ranked passing defense (140.8 yards allowed per game), was first in the nation in opponent thirddown conversion percentage (23.7) and first in the nation in tackles for loss (10.5).
Helping the Hurricanes continue that success was one of the reasons Banda opted to stay in Coral Gables as opposed to joining Diaz at Temple.
“It was obviously not an easy decision. A lot of people probably would be like ‘You’re crazy, why would you even think about it?’ Well, if you work for Manny Diaz you understand why you would think about [going to Temple],” Banda said. “But at the end of the day as I saw it as an opportunity, as a challenge to challenge myself and step out of my comfort zone and that’s why I decided, one of the reasons I decided to get this thing done.
“Obviously, the other reason includes this place, all the players and all the recruiting ties and all of the relationships you’ve developed over the years. If that wasn’t right, then it would have been an easy decision to go with coach [Diaz] because I think he’s going to be the best head coach in a few years in the country, guaranteed, 100 percent I would not doubt one bit. So, it wasn’t easy. It was a hard decision because of my faith and understanding of that person. But it was the right reason because I know what’s still here.”
Added Patke, “Our kids love this system. They have bought in. They have given everything to us and to this university. They have played at a high level, and we think we can continue on. And we will continue on with this defense, and continue to attack, which is perfect for where we live and the athletes that we can create down here.”
And at least one of Miami’s current players seemed to believe the Hurricanes had made the right decision in promoting Banda, Patke and Simpson.
“Coach Banda and coach Patke, those are my guys, too. I've been working with them as long as I've been working with coach Diaz and it's the same thing,” junior linebacker Zach McCloud said. “I feel they deserve to be in the spot that they're in right now and I know this'll help propel them even further in life."