Ex-UM coach Diaz is new DC at Penn State
Manny Diaz has landed on his feet in an impressive way.
Five days after being fired as the Miami Hurricanes football coach and replaced by new University of Miami coach Mario Cristobal, Diaz was announced Saturday morning as Penn State’s new defensive coordinator.
“My family and I are so excited to come to Happy Valley and join the Penn State family,” said Diaz in a Penn State release. “The opportunity to lead Linebacker U is an honor and I will work every day to uphold that tradition.
Penn State’s defense has been among the nation’s best, both historically and under Coach Franklin.
“I will continue to pursue excellence with our defensive unit on a daily basis. I can’t wait to get on the field with this talented group, to get to know them, and to ultimately develop them as football players, students and young men. Penn State’s fans are the best in the country, and I look forward to seeing them this fall in Beaver Stadium!”
PSU coach James Franklin said the Lions “are thrilled” to add Diaz to its coaching roster.
“Manny is a veteran defensive play caller whose head coaching experience will bring tremendous value to our organization,” Franklin said. “He has an innovative approach to complement his extensive Xs & Os knowledge which he developed through his stops at multiple Power Five conferences. Manny’s defensive philosophy is in line with our scheme and will help in the transition with our current team. His defenses have been aggressive and led the country in several categories throughout his career. We are excited to have Manny and his family join us in Happy Valley!”
Diaz replaces Brent
Pry, the new Virginia
Tech head coach.
Diaz, 47, finished 21-15 at UM in three seasons. Franklin, like many Power Five football coaches, loves South Florida football talent and Diaz’s connections to those coaches and players were a significant factor in his hiring, a source told the Miami Herald.
Diaz’s five-year UM contract ran through
2023, and his salary was not publicly disclosed because UM is a private school. But a UM athletic department administrator told the Miami Herald that Diaz was due to make between $6.5 million and $8 million combined over the 2022 and 2023 seasons, depending on whether he met incentives. The source said if Diaz were fired and got another job, the amount owed to him would be offset by the salary of his new job. And if he remained unemployed from the time of his firing through the 2023 season, he would be owed more than half of what was left
four with the Rays).
His presence gives Marlins manager Don Mattingly a better opportunity to create his lineup based on matchups.
He now has four feasible options to play at second base, shortstop and third base on a daily basis: Jazz Chisholm Jr. (second base and shortstop), Miguel Rojas (all three spots, although he’s the team’s primary shortstop), Joey Wendle (all three spots) and Brian Anderson (third base). Chisholm and Wendle are both left-handed hitters. Rojas and Anderson are right-handed hitters.
“You can put him at different positions, and we can be flexible with it,” Marlins general manager Kim Ng said of Wendle. “So I think
on his contract.
NAVY 17, ARMY 13
Quarterback Tai Lavatai ran for two touchdowns and Navy’s defense limited Army to 57 second-half yards and a season-low 232 overall in a 17-13 victory Saturday in a game played at the Meadowlands to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Navy (4-8) played a complete game, outgaining Army (8-4) on the ground and overall controlling the clock and converting three big plays, two on fourth-down, that led to all its points.
The Navy defense made the big play at the end, stopping Army quarterback Christian Anderson a yard short at the Navy 46 on fourth down with 91 seconds left.
Bijan Nichols added a 43-yard field goal for Navy, which struggled against a schedule that featured 11 bowl-bound teams. Navy ends the season with a rivalry win, while Army will face Missouri in the Armed Forces Bowl.
Anderson scored on a 56-yard run on Army’s fourth play from scrimmage whenever someone needs a spell — we dealt with a lot of injuries last year — in terms of multidimensionality and flexibility, that is something that we’ve seen the industry go to. So I think he’s a tremendous add for us.”
The strategy is there, but do the Marlins have the pieces to become playoff contenders? Wendle thinks so.
To Wendle, just like the Marlins, it starts with the pitching staff led by Sandy Alcantara — a group Wendle said he’s thankful he doesn’t have to face anymore.
Then consider the other players the Marlins added this offseason — Gold Glove catcher Jacob Stallings and a middle-ofthe-order bat in Avisail Garcia — plus the return of Jesus Aguilar and Garrett and Cole Talley added field goals of 31 and 32 yards, all in the first half. The Black Knights generated little after that in seeing their four-game winning streak snapped and losing to Navy for only the second time in six games.
Army led 13-7 at the half with each team scoring touchdowns on the opening possessions.
Anderson opened the scoring with a 56-yard run on the fourth play from scrimmage. Lavatai capped an 11-play, 83-yard response by the Midshipmen, scoring on an 8-yard run on which fullback James Harris helped carry him the final 3 yards.
Navy took over in the second half, taking the kickoff and going 74 yards in 10 plays with Lavatai scoring from 2-yards out. The drive featured a 26yard run by Chance Warren on fourth-and-4 that got the ball to the 2.
ELSEWHERE
Ducks: Oregon has hired Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning as its next head coach, a person involved in the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Oregon completed a
ACooper, plus the jump youngsters such as Jesus Sanchez, Bryan De La Cruz and Lewin Diaz will hopefully make next season, and Wendle likes the composition of the roster.
(A note: The Marlins say they aren’t done making moves and hope to add at least one more outfielder once the new collective bargaining agreement is in place and MLB’s player lockout ends).
“There’s a lot of exciting arms from top to bottom and position players, as well,” Wendle said. “Just looking at the pieces that are in place, I’m excited.”
Jordan McPherson: 305-376-2129, @J_McPherson1126 deal with Lanning to replace Mario Cristobal, who was hired away by Miami this week, said the person, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the school had not yet made an official announcement.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution first reported Friday that Oregon would hire Lanning.
The 35-year-old Lanning will be a first-time head coach with Oregon after spending the past four years at Georgia, the previous three leading one of the best defenses in the country.
No. 3 Georgia (12-1) has the top-ranked defense in the country this season and will play No. 2 Michigan in the College Football Playoff at the Orange Bowl on Dec. 31.
Oregon’s coaching search lasted about four days after Cristobal went home to Miami following four full seasons in Eugene as head coach. The Ducks went 35-13 under Cristobal, reaching the Pac-12 title game each of the last three seasons.
Seminoles: Florida State has promoted senior defensive analyst Randy Shannon, the former head coach at the University of Miami, to codefensive coordinator and linebackers coach.
A