Skip to content

Ad Disclosure

College Football

Former Miami head coach named new defensive coordinator at Penn State

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

Penn State has found its next defensive coordinator.

On Saturday morning, Penn State announced that former Miami head coach Manny Diaz will be the next defensive coordinator for the program. The Nittany Lions were looking to replace Brent Pry, who was named the head coach at Virginia Tech after serving on James Franklin’s staff in State College since 2014.

Diaz was fired as the head coach at Miami recently as the athletic department looked to go a different direction. The Hurricanes hired Mario Cristobal to replace Diaz.

Diaz brings plenty of experience as a defensive coordinator to State College. He had his first opportunity in that role at Middle Tennessee in 2006. He’s also had stops at Mississippi State, Texas and Louisiana Tech.

Although the Hurricanes struggled at times under Diaz as the head coach, they were excellent on the defensive side of the football when he served as the defensive coordinator. From 2016 through 2018, Miami never allowed more than 21 points per game for a season.

Penn State had one of the nation’s top defensive units in 2021, allowing just 16.8 points per game. The Nittany Lions were also outstanding in red zone stops.

The Nittany Lions finished the year with a 7-5 record.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB