Diaz not focusing on job security after James’ departure

CORAL GABLES — When it was announced on Monday that Blake James was parting ways with Miami as the university’s athletic director, questions naturally arose if there will soon be more changes to come — especially for the football program led by coach Manny Diaz.

James hired Diaz as UM’s football coach in 2018 as the successor to Mark Richt, who coached the Hurricanes for three seasons before abruptly retiring from coaching on Dec. 30, 2018.

Diaz, who was UM’s defensive coordinator under Richt and had accepted the head coaching job at Temple a month prior, was hired as Miami’s next football coach one day later in a move that James detractors criticized him for due to making a hasty decision and not conducting a national search.

“Obviously, I thanked Blake for the opportunity he gave me here,” Diaz said in his first comments to reporters since Monday’s announcement. “I’ll be forever grateful to him. Wished him the best.”

Nearly three years later, the Hurricanes have gone 19-15 under Diaz, who once again finds himself at the center of intensified speculation about his job security after James’ departure and another disappointing Miami (5-5, 3-3 ACC) season entering Saturday’s matchup against Virginia Tech (5-5, 3-3 ACC).

For Diaz, the cloud of uncertainty hasn’t affected how his team has approached this week.

“Since we’ve started the way we started, I think all of this in this program have had to focus on one-week missions,” he said. “By doing that, we won three games in a row and had a chance to win a fourth game [against Florida State] that we didn’t finish. That’s the same thing this week. There’s a mission and the mission is to beat Virginia Tech. That’s all we can control.

“Because of that mentality, I think our team has been pretty resilient through the course of the year. They’ve stayed together, fought for each other and fought for this program every week this season. That to me is the goal. That was no different than back when we were 2-4. It’s no different this week.”

Similar speculation about Diaz’s job security heightened after James spoke to certain media outlets in late October, including ESPN, ahead of the Hurricanes’ home game against then-No. 18 N.C. State on Oct. 23. Miami was 2-4 at the time after back-toback losses to Virginia and North Carolina, and entered that weekend having lost its past six games to Power Five programs.

James didn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t make any in-season coaching changes and made it clear that the Hurricanes needed to win more — which UM did, going on a three-game winning streak with victories over N.C. State, then-No. 17 Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech before losing to Florida State last weekend.

“It hasn’t changed,” Diaz said when asked how he stays focused despite the speculation. “I understand the question and I’m not trying to sound dismissive of it, but nothing is really different when you think about it, right? There’s a game Saturday that we have to go win. What’s required to go win a football game is what’s required.”

Diaz added that nobody’s had conversations with him about his job security, saying, “the conversations have been we want to make sure you’re focused on beating Virginia Tech. And that’s it.”

He also isn’t worried about whether people outside the university are supportive of him keeping his job.

“The people inside are who really matter,” Diaz said. “And when I say inside, I don’t just mean inside the locker room or this building. There are people inside this building, the university or donors — there’s been a lot of people unwavering in their support.

“There are a lot of people in the business world who understand results don’t always come in a linear graph no matter how much we want them to, but also understand things that need to be fixed to go forward. I don’t spend a lot of time seeking outside affirmation.”

And he doesn’t want the speculation about his job security to bring the attention away from Saturday’s game being Senior Night for the Hurricanes.

“This is not about me, it’s about the players,” Diaz said. “This is about a group of 15 guys, give or take, who are going to play their last game at Hard Rock Stadium who’ve had phenomenal careers here and deserve to go out winners.”

Williams update

Diaz said UM doesn’t know if true freshman starting safety James Williams will play against Virginia Tech.

Williams, a former five-star prospect out of American Heritage Plantation who has started in Miami’s last seven games, is dealing with a “soft-tissue” injury and didn’t play in the second half of the loss to Florida State.

“We’re still not sure yet,” Diaz said when asked if Williams will play against the Hokies. “Still trying to see how he’s progressing. He’s moving around a little bit better and we’re hoping.”