Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Reshaping and reinvigorating
New strength coach Feeley blends motivation, discipline, accountability
CORAL GABLES — In the weeks after a whirlwind December that saw a once-promising season end with an ugly loss to Wisconsin in the Pinstripe Bowl, the abrupt retirement of former coach Mark Richt and the return of former defensive coordinator Manny Diaz to lead the Hurricanes, questions loomed large over the Miami football program.
What kind of coach would Diaz be? What kind of staff would he put together? How would some of Miami’s offensive players — who’d never worked closely with Diaz — respond to his taking over as coach?
There may have been uncertainty early on, but there was one thing Diaz was certain about — he wanted David Feeley running his strength and conditioning program.
And Diaz needed just 18 days in December to make that decision.
Diaz had never worked with Feeley previously, the two meeting shortly after Diaz was hired as the head coach at Temple in early December. But after a 52-minute phone call and several conversations in which Diaz and Feeley realized they shared similar visions for building a football program, Diaz named Feeley the Owls’ assistant athletic director in charge of football sports performance.
When Diaz found himself back in Miami as the Hurricanes’ new coach after Richt’s unexpected retirement, one of the first moves he made was hiring Feeley — a 14-year veteran who had worked at FIU, South Carolina, Ball State, Rutgers and South Florida before Temple — to run the Hurricanes strength and conditioning program.
It was a move Feeley was excited to make — because of Diaz.
“I know I’m working for Manny Diaz. I can tell you that,” Feeley laughed when describing the unusual circumstances that brought him to Miami. “It’s been great. God has a plan. Everything’s going to take care of itself as long as you treat people the right way. … I’m very lucky to be back down here. I’m very lucky to work with such a great head coach and great assistant coaches. These guys are rock stars and the kids here are phenomenal. It’s been a wild ride, I’m not going to lie. But you land on your feet if you hopefully do things right for a long time. Just keep treating people right and everything will work itself out.”
So far, things seem to be working out nicely for both Feeley and the Hurricanes, many of whom have taken to social media in recent weeks to post videos of themselves working out with Feeley ahead of the start of spring practice, which is set to begin March 19th.
Diaz himself has noticed an uptick in the number of players that came in to work with Feeley during voluntary workouts. A group that started with 44 players inside UM’s indoor practice facility one week, grew the next to 53. A week later, it was 65. And Feeley quipped that some Hurricanes — like cornerback Trajan Bandy — have been in the building so many times that “we’re almost ready to throw that guy out of here.”
“That is the story of this program right now, the way [Feeley] has changed the culture of our football team,” Diaz said earlier this month. “We had our first workout in the indoor facility It was a good workout, sort of an appetizer for what it’s going to be when they come back. … Ten minutes [after the workout ended] there were still 40 guys in the indoor, just doing extra work. … We wanted to create a culture where guys wanted to walk into this building, guys wanted to be in this building. These are real tangible things [that] let us know this program is going through some real transformations.”
So how has Feeley been able to connect so quickly with not only Diaz, but with the players whose bodies he is in charge of reshaping?
Feeley says it’s because he tries to make sure the workouts he creates for his athletes aren’t just effective, but enjoyable.
While at Temple, Feeley created a “Rocky” themed workout that culminated with players running up the famous steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the same way the fictional Rocky Balboa did. At Ball State, Feeley created a workout that had players doing squats while dressed as superheroes like the Hulk, Captain America and Wolverine.
There will, at some point, be a similar style workout at Miami, though Feeley says he hasn’t figured out what it will be just yet. In the meantime, though, he wants to make sure players are lifting heavy weights all year long and that each position group follows a functional workout plan that will help each player attain specific goals.
Improving speed and mobility are two of those primary goals and Feeley wants to make sure his workouts help players avoid injuries, notably sports hernias, which he pointed out have been a growing issue.
He preaches the values of consistency and accountability and knows that as one of the coaches who will spend the most time with Miami’s players, it’s important for him to set the tone as both a motivator and a disciplinarian.
It’s a challenge he embraces, knowing it’s the work done now that will pay dividends in the fall.
“I think they’re well on their way,” Feeley said. “I think the No. 1 thing is buying into the program as to how you want it run and everything is driven through Coach Diaz’s vision. What he wants is really, accountability. And with accountability comes ownership.”