Tag: Manny Diaz

Miami is expected to hire Mario Cristobal and Oregon fans are calling for Chip Kelly to come back

All reports indicate the University of Oregon will soon have to hire its fourth football coach since Chip Kelly left the program in 2012.

With thanks to an upsetting reallocation of financial resources, Oregon Ducks coach Mario Cristobal is expected to take over for the Miami Hurricanes.

That also means Manny Diaz is out at the University of Miami. As a consequence of the game of musical chairs played by collegiate athletic departments, the University of Oregon will soon have to hire its fourth football coach since Chip Kelly left the program for a brief tenure in the NFL starting in 2012.

After failing to live up to expectations with the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers, Kelly made his return to college football — and the Pac-12 — when he took over as head coach for UCLA Bruins back in 2018.

Especially after an awkward conversation with a reporter last week, Kelly’s future at UCLA is also as uncertain as ever. Kelly has a buyout at $9 million through Jan. 15, per reports, but that drops to $0 the following day.

Considering the success that Kelly had at Oregon, it’s no surprise that fans are clamoring for a potential reunion for Kelly to resolve what was left of his unfinished business in Eugene.

Miami is reportedly using medical profits to hire a new football coach, which made the internet properly irate

Just when you think college sports can’t get any worse.

The University of Miami is prepared to nearly double Mario Cristobal’s salary, according to The Athletic, to get the former Hurricanes offensive lineman to leave Oregon and coach at his alma mater.

To do so, Miami will also pay a $9 million buyout to get Cristobal out of his deal with the Ducks and pay out a substantial portion of the $8 million or so left on Manny Diaz’s deal.

In addition, the university appears to have made some promises to Cristobal regarding new facilities and other football-related spending, endeavoring to catch up with the Joneses in the arms race.

Where’s all this capital coming from? I’ll let my colleague Charles McDonald explain:

That’s right. According to The Athletic, the school feels emboldened to invest in football because …. its medical system made more than $400 million in profits last year.

This would be a heinous re-direction of funds even if we weren’t in the midst of a global pandemic. A few years ago, Florida had about 2.7 million people — 13 percent of the state — living without health insurance. The coronavirus pandemic appears to have spurred new enrollments through government programs, but we’re still looking at millions of people who don’t have coverage with many of them saying it simply costs too much.

Of course, more than 61,000 Florida residents have died of coronavirus and the state ranks 10th on the list of deaths per 100,000 residents. Clearly the citizens of the state need more help. The people working in hospitals, from doctors on down to the people who push wheelchairs around, are no doubt overworked and stressed, too.

So, I don’t know, maybe put those profits back toward subsidizing treatment for the uninsured? Get them better treatment earlier — routine checkups! — and spend less later. Silly stuff. Also, use those funds, maybe, to make life better for the nurses and janitors keeping everything running at the hospitals?

Or let’s take yet another stab at bringing back the Glory of The U!

College sports has been a corrupt morass overseen by morally broken people for a very long time. It feels like just as we’re on the cusp of change — thanks to improved rights for student-athletes and a growing push to let them unionize and negotiate for better treatment — the system is convulsing and finding new ways to cover itself in shame.

I won’t keep railing on this. The internet did it for me:

Report: Mario Cristobal has until Monday to make decision on Miami Hurricanes job

According to a new report from @RossDellenger, Cristobal has until midday on Monday to decide about Miami vs. Oregon.

While much of the college football world has been waiting with bated breath to see what Oregon Ducks head coach Mario Cristobal’s decision will be on his future, it appears that a deadline has been set.

Unfortunately for Oregon fans, that deadline is reportedly still a day away.

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According to SI’s Ross Dellenger, Cristobal has until midday on Monday to make a decision on if he will be taking the head coaching job at Miami. If he decides to stay at Oregon, current Miami coach Manny Diaz will stay on as the coach. If Cristobal takes the Miami job, then Diaz will be fired.

So while Sunday has been spent refreshing Twitter and seeing if Cristobal has made a decision yet, it’s clear that there is an end-point to all of the madness, and we will likely know within the next 24 hours.

So keep refreshing for the time being, but know that there is an end in sight.

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Miami already seeing ‘early returns’ thanks to NIL

Since the NCAA allowed student-athletes to earn compensation for the use of their name, image and likeness on July 1 perhaps no school has seen early returns as favorable as Miami. Hurricanes quarterback D’Eriq King cashed in almost immediately with …

Since the NCAA allowed student-athletes to earn compensation for the use of their name, image and likeness on July 1 perhaps no school has seen early returns as favorable as Miami.

Hurricanes quarterback D’Eriq King cashed in almost immediately with the launch of Dreamfield, an agency that connects businesses with student-athletes, and deals that will earn him more than $20,000 in addition to his scholarship. In fact, the entire team cashed in on a $540,000 deal that will allow 90 players to profit $6,000 each over the year.

The early returns from the NIL change have impressed Miami head coach Manny Diaz and met his expectations for how the rule change would impact his program.

“Before July 1 that was my only expectation in a pro market with a huge economy that it could be better for us because there’s just more commerce,” Diaz said at ACC Football Kickoff on Wednesday. “But we didn’t know what to expect after July 1 and the early returns have been really positive.”

King views himself as more than a quarterback for the Hurricanes but an ambassador for the program and feels the change could help Miami get over the hump in the ACC.

“I think the NIL can influence recruiting a lot because people can see that Miami loves Hurricane football. A group of guys can see that and also play big time football every single Saturday,” Diaz said. “So a group of guys can play big time football while also making money and that will influence recruiting.”

Since Miami joined the ACC in 2004 it has made the ACC Championship Game once in 2017 when the Hurricanes won the Coastal Division but were overwhelmed by Clemson 38-3 in the title game.

But Diaz feels his team’s fortunes could change with a boost from the NIL on the recruiting trail paired with an experienced and talent team returning to the field in 2021.

“It’s interesting because there are very few things in recruiting that are outside of our control and we hear the news the same time as you guys,” Diaz said. “But obviously you can share it along and say look this is what’s happening for our guys and it’s a unique situation so it can’t be a bad thing and it’s nice to help pass good news along.”

Miami opens the season with a tall test against Alabama on Sept. 4 in the Chick-Fila-A Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. at 3:30 p.m.

Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!

UAB vs Miami (FL): How to watch, BetMGM odds and game picks

Alabama-Birmingham travels to Miami to take on the Hurricanes. Former Texas defensive coordinator Manny Diaz is looking to open with a win.

Another Thursday is upon us which means another Thursday night college football game to pick. This time it will be Miami out of the ACC Conference taking on the UAB Blazers. For the Canes, it is their season opener as UAB prepares for their second game of the year. Former Texas Longhorns defensive coordinator Manny Diaz heads into his second season as the head coach.

Last season Diaz had one of the top 25 defenses in the country that allowed just north of 20 points per game. The offense is really where their problems lie, so why not bring in a new quarterback to get the party started. D’Eriq King transfers in to Miami at four years at Houston. He had a breakout year in 2018 and looks to return Miami to their former glory. Should be an interesting game to watch.

Line: According to BetMGM the line is (-14) in favor of Miami.

Game Picks

Picker UAB vs Miami (-14) Outright winner ATS Record Overall Record
Patrick Miami Miami 2-5 4-3
Griffin UAB Miami 5-2 5-2
Cami Miami Miami 3-4 5-2

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How to watch Alabama-Birmingham vs Miami (FL)

Game Time: 7:00 pm CST

Network: ACC Network

Stream: Watch ESPN App

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Former Florida Gators 4-star signee makes transfer decision

Florida Gators offensive lineman Issiah Walker has made his transfer decision.

Offensive tackle Issiah Walker signed with Florida as a 4-star recruit in the most recent (2020) recruiting cycle, however, announced last week that he would be transferring before ever playing a game for the Gators.

On Saturday, Walker announced he will be transferring to Miami, staying in-state.

Walker played high school football at Norland in Miami, Florida. His transfer continues Florida’s trend of struggling to lock down top talent in the Sunshine State.

Whether or not Walker will be forced to sit-out the 2020 season is unknown. NCAA transfer rules state he will, but we’ve seen crazier things happen.

Florida fans may try to brush off another transfer, but the Gators losing another offensive lineman isn’t going to help them rush for more than 21 yards next time they face Georgia.

 

 

5 Coaches Who’ll Be Much Better In Year Two: 20 For 2020 College Football Topics, No. 15

20 for 2020 College Football Topics, No. 15: The five second year head coaches who should have a much stronger Year Two.

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20 for 2020 College Football Topics, No. 15: The five second year head coaches who should have a much stronger Year Two.

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Well that didn’t go so well.

25 college football head coaches are going into their second seasons at the helm, and now is where the production is supposed to start to kick in.

There’s usually a reason as head coach is taking over a program, and most of the time it’s because the last guy got canned. So there’s a grace period because of all the work there is to do, but there’s usually not enough of one.

Even so, Year Two is when the turnarounds are supposed to come. Unfortunately, unlike our piece last season on the 5 Instant Impact New Head Coaches – which turned out to be close to the pin – the 5 Year Two Coaches Who’ll Be Much, Much Better really, really didn’t work.

And why?

Chad Morris at Arkansas … oops. Willie Taggart at Florida State … dropped too soon, but fired. And it goes on from there, so this time around these five have to be right.

Which five got through a slew of first year problems and are about to blow up?

The five coaches about to make the biggest instant impact in their second seasons are …

5. Tom Arth, Akron

There’s nowhere to go but up.

Win one game, and it’s already going to be an improved season. Win three, and it’ll be a huge step forward. Go bowling, and Tom Arth is your coach of the year.

Akron was easily the worst team in college football last season.

It was the only team that failed to win a game. It was dead last in the nation in total offense, couldn’t generate a lick of production on the defensive front, and it got worse as the year went on scoring six points or fewer in five of the last seven games.

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But to give Arth a little bit of credit, he had plenty of work to do after taking over a team team that closed out 2018 on a five-game losing streak.

The 38-year-old worked his way through D-III John Carroll – his alma mater, which he took to three D-III playoff appearances – before taking on the Chattanooga gig. He went 9-13 with the Mocs, but that was enough to get him the Akron job.

So what are things possibly going to be better in Year Two? Experience has to count for something.

With the season slipping away, Akron went young to get the time logged in. Now, if all goes according to plan, ten starters will be back on O, six should return on D, and there’s hope to get off to a hot start with Youngstown State, New Mexico State, Clemson …

Starting 2-0 is a possibility, with home games against UMass and Bowling Green to potentially crank up a few wins.

0-12 to 4-8?

NEXT: The adjustment continues …

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Former Ravens S Ed Reed new University of Miami ‘Chief of Staff’

Former Baltimore Ravens and University of Miami safety will be returning to his alma mater as their new “Chief of staff” under Manny Diaz

Former Baltimore Ravens legend and Hall of Fame safety is returning to his alma mater. The University of Miami has hired Reed to be their “Chief of Staff” and will be an adviser in all matters to coach Manny Diaz, according to the team’s website.

“We are thrilled to welcome Ed back to Coral Gables,” Diaz said. “He is not only one of the most decorated players in Miami football history but also a devoted Cane who cares deeply about this program. All of our players, coaches and staff will be fortunate to tap into his experience, knowledge and passion on a regular basis.”

Reed played safety for the Hurricanes and was a first-team All American in 2000 and 2001 before being selected by Baltimore in the first round of the 2002 NFL draft. He continued that impressive legacy with the Ravens, going to the Pro Bowl in nine of his 11 seasons with the team. Reed was quickly named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on his first year of eligibility, getting a consensus vote after just two minutes of deliberation.

Reed has said he wanted to get back into coaching and this will seemingly give him an opportunity to do a little bit of everything. He previously held a position as an assistant defensive backs coach with former Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan when he was the head coach of the Buffalo Bills, but was relieved of duty when Ryan was fired.

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