New Duke football coach Manny Diaz knows the Blue Devils don’t need a ton of work. After all, he’s walking into a locker room with 17 wins over the last two seasons.
During ACC Football Kickoff on Wednesday, Diaz stopped by ACC Network and talked about how he wanted to keep as many key people within the program as possible.
“The best thing we have at Duke is our people,” Diaz said. “And to keep the nucleus of the team last year together, which we were able to do for the most part.”
He also praised one specific Duke staff member: Director of Football Sports Performance David Feeley.
“The whole key has been keeping David Feeley,” Diaz continued. “If you ask all of our players, they believe that he is the key to the success the last couple years.”
Diaz already worked with Feeley in Miami. While Diaz coached the Hurricanes from 2019-21, Feeley worked as the director of strength and conditioning for football.
It's about the people… #ACCKickoff pic.twitter.com/8CPi5pSHVK
— Duke Football (@DukeFOOTBALL) July 24, 2024
Overall, Diaz felt like a lot of the groundwork for a good football program already exists in Durham. Why try to fix what isn’t broken?
“You hear coaches talk all the time, ‘We have to establish a culture in year one,’ it was already established,” Diaz said. “Because your culture is what you do for each other.”