Manny Diaz, who owns 25 years of collegiate coaching experience and 14 as a defensive coordinator, enters his second season with the Nittany Lions as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.
Defenses under Diaz have been a force behind the line of scrimmage, as his units since 2016 have ranked in the top 10 nationally in tackles for loss each year: No. 5 in 2022 (8.0 per game), No. 9 in 2021 (7.75), No. 4 in 2020 (8.6), No. 4 in 2019 (8.3), No. 1 in 2018 (10.5), No. 4 in 2017 (8.5) and No. 5 in 2016 (8.3).
Diaz, who was a 2022 Broyles Award semifinalist and has coached in 20 bowl games (14-6 record), helped propel Penn State's defense into one of the top units in the nation during his first year with the Nittany Lions.
Penn State finished first nationally with 85 pass breakups and had four games with double-digit pass breakups in 2022, while ranking tied for seventh in takeaways and tied for ninth in scoring defense.
PSU led the Big Ten with 104 tackles for loss (T-4th nationally) and 42 sacks (T-6th), and 26 different Nittany Lions had at least a full tackle for loss, good for second in the nation.
Penn State additionally had 16 players who recorded at least one sack, tied for the nation’s lead among Power Five teams.
Abdul Carter was second-team All-Big Ten as a true freshman, earned FWAA Freshman All-American honors and was a finalist for the Maxwell Football Club's Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award.
During Diaz's tenure as head coach at Miami (2019-21), the Hurricanes tied for the second most ACC wins in the league, only trailing Clemson.
Diaz coached the Hurricanes to three bowl appearances in his three seasons at the helm, which included an 8-3 (7-2 ACC) record in 2020. It was the second time with Diaz on staff as well as the second time in program history Miami won seven ACC games.
Miami’s 2021 squad finished the regular season winning five of its last six games, including wins over Top 20 opponents NC State and Pitt, and finished second in the ACC Coastal division with a 5-3 conference record.
Prior to taking over as head coach, Diaz ran a Hurricane defensive unit which ranked fourth nationally in total defense (278.9) in 2018, while also finishing first in tackles for loss (10.5 per game), third down conversion percentage (.253) and passing defense (135.6).
From 2018-20, Miami featured at least one player with 15 tackles for loss: Jaelan Phillips (15.5) in 2020, Gregory Rousseau (19.5) in 2019 and Jonathan Garvin (18.0) in 2018.
During the 2017 campaign, Miami was first nationally in sacks (3.38 per game), third in tackles for loss (8.5 per game), eighth in fumble recoveries (14) and 15th in interceptions (17).
The Hurricanes won the ACC Coastal Division in 2017 and earned a berth into the Capital One Orange Bowl.
Diaz joined Miami as a defensive coordinator in 2016 and led an impressive turnaround to the unit in his first season. The Hurricanes ranked fifth nationally in tackles for loss (up from 105th in 2015), tied for eighth in touchdowns allowed (up from 61st), ninth in yards allowed per play (up from 86th), 12th in scoring defense (up from 77th), 20th in total defense (up from 69th) and 22nd in sacks (up from 70th).
Diaz spent the 2015 season as defensive coordinator at Mississippi State, where the 9-4 Bulldogs held opponents to 23.2 points per game and ranked in the nation’s top 10 in red zone defense and tackles for loss.
Diaz was the defensive coordinator during the 2014 season at Louisiana Tech, where the Bulldogs led the nation in takeaways (42).
He was defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Texas (2011-13), as the Longhorns were ninth nationally in yards per play in 2011.
He spent six seasons at NC State as a graduate assistant (2000-05) before joining Middle Tennessee (2006-09), where he led the defense.
