Within a span of 12 hours, the Miami Hurricanes went from announcing that their head football coach was retiring to naming a familiar face as his replacement.
Out is Mark Richt, who stepped down Sunday after 18 years as a head coach, including the past three at his alma mater UM.
His replacement: Manny Diaz, Richt’s defensive coordinator all three years at Miami who had accepted the head coaching job at Temple earlier this month on Dec. 12.
“I never saw this coming, no one did,” Diaz said in a release sent out by UM late Sunday night officially announcing the hire. “I do hope that the Temple players, administration and fans appreciate the uniqueness of this situation and the overwhelming pull to stay home. Pat Kraft is a phenomenal leader and I know he will hire a great coach to move them forward.”
But who is Diaz?
The 44-year-old Cuban American is a Miami native and the son of former Miami mayor Manny Diaz Sr.
Read more at our news partner, the Miami Herald.
