Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1503568
A U G U S T 2 0 2 3 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M S pend any amount of time around Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz, and the most obvious question produces the most obvious answer, whether he says it or not. Will Diaz be a college football head coach again? Obviously, yes. That topic has been on the minds of Penn State fans since his lights-out de- but with the Nittany Lions last season. But even before his arrival, a return to head coaching felt like an inevitability. He had spent three seasons at Miami, during which the Hurricanes totaled the second-most conference wins of any ACC team, yet Diaz was let go in the rush to bring Mario Cristobal to Coral Gables. Since then, Diaz's qualifications as a major-college head coaching candidate have crystallized. He's impressively in command as a leader. He has the respect of his fellow coaches and the players under his tutelage, and the on- field product has been undeniable. Diaz is a winner, and if the trajectory holds, his next opportunity will arrive at the conclusion of the Nittany Lions' 2023 regular season. In his first year at Penn State, Diaz oversaw a defense that finished among the nation's best. The Nittany Lions limited opponents to just 111.2 rushing yards and 323.5 total yards per game, ranking 16th in the FBS in both cat- egories. They notched 3.31 sacks per game (fifth) and 8.0 tackles for loss per game (fourth). Most impressive of all, opponents struggled to reach the end zone, putting up just 18.2 points per game, good for 10th among all defenses nationally. Along the way, Diaz was included as a Broyles Award semifinalist recogniz- ing the game's top assistant coaches. Now, with a lineup at his disposal that may be even more talented than last year's group, he appears poised to do it again. The Nittany Lions return six starters who earned All-Big Ten status last sea- son. Highlighting that group are junior Kalen King and senior Johnny Dixon at cornerback, sophomore Abdul Carter and junior Curtis Jacobs at linebacker, and junior Chop Robinson and redshirt senior Adisa Isaac at defensive end. Should their performances match or exceed the lofty expectations accom- panying the upcoming season, Diaz will likely have options. But the obvious questions regarding his future — Will he receive another opportunity? If he does, will he take it? — aren't necessarily the right ones to be asking. The more relevant questions have to do with when and where his opportunities might arise. And Diaz's discernment in how he answers them, jumping for the first big payday at a Power Five program or being more se- lective toward a place that fits and has structural support, creates the most interesting dynamic to consider. He seems to recognize it, too, in his evaluation of where Penn State now stands as a football program. "You have to have a lot of things in place to succeed. It's a very competi- tive business, and everyone is trying to win," Diaz said. "Alignment wins. It's true of a defense or a football team, and it's certainly true of an athletic depart- ment or university. When everybody understands the plan to win and how to make that happen, usually those places tend to win. "There are a lot of things that go on outside of you that contribute to that success. If you don't have a good strength program, you can forget about playing good defense. So, it's just un- derstanding the things that you're de- pendent on." At Penn State, Diaz recognized that he would have an opportunity to suc- ceed as part of James Franklin's staff. Using the readily available examples of past defensive success, both histori- cally and through Franklin's tenure, Diaz understood that the conditions for continued excellence were already in place before his arrival. That understanding will carry over into his subsequent career moves, whatever they may be. "If the oppor- tunity is going to be there to be a head coach again, you want to make sure that you have the same ingredients in place to be successful," he said. Diaz has a comprehensive knowledge of the factors that play into on-field success, from facilities to name, image and likeness considerations and the need to quickly adapt to change. He has what it takes to be a head coach. That reality will be further ingrained in the coming weeks and months. How, when and where those or- ganizational ingredients appear will be a fascinating exercise for Diaz to navigate. But as he gets set to lead the Nittany Lion defense for at least one more season, with a clear affinity for PSU and the opportunity he's received in State College, those career questions can be tackled later. And when they come, the answers might not be what they seem. ■ Diaz, who was 21-15 as Miami's head coach, has the Nittany Lion defense trending up in Year 2 at PSU. PHOTO BY GREG PICKEL O P I N I O N NATE BAUER NATE.BAUER@ON3.COM HOT READ Lions Have The Potential To Burnish Manny Diaz's Credentials