STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Manny Diaz made it clear since the day he arrived in Happy Valley that he wanted to be a head coach again.
Now, after Penn State’s defense finished his second regular season ranked No. 1 in the nation in yards per play, sacks, yards per game and pressure rate, Diaz is getting another crack at being a head coach, returning to the ACC at Duke.
Welcome to Duke, @Coach_MannyDiaz! 😈 pic.twitter.com/mQhNhm0Pb0
— Duke Football (@DukeFOOTBALL) December 8, 2023
The Duke job gives him the chance to prove that his 21-15 record in three years as Miami’s head coach was only part of his story. Duke is coming off a 16-9 mark over the past two years to launch Mike Elko to the Texas A&M job, and now Diaz will have the chance to leave his mark on a Blue Devils program that has had success under Elko and David Cutcliffe in recent years but has only one ranked finish since 1960.
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Meanwhile, James Franklin will have to make a second coordinator hire after landing Andy Kotelnicki from Kansas last Friday to run the offense. Here are some thoughts on Penn State’s latest coordinator search:
1. This was never going to be about the money
Think of Penn State efforts to keep Diaz as similar to someone throwing dollar bills into a garbage can. It was pointless. There was nothing the Nittany Lions could’ve done to prevent Diaz’s departure. He wanted to be a head coach and felt this was the best opportunity for him to do so. Sometimes, it’s just that simple.
Remember, Diaz was still receiving payment from his Miami buyout, money that was set to run through the 2024 season. Including his buyout, Diaz made $3.6 million this season and was set to make $3.7 million at Penn State in 2024, a program source told The Athletic. That’s an astronomical figure for a coordinator.
Penn State signed Kotelnicki to a four-year contract that starts at $1.6 million and escalates to $2 million by the fourth season. That’s a highly competitive contract and salary for an offensive coordinator. Compare that to Diaz’s compensation thanks to the Miami buyout and, again, this had nothing to do with Penn State not paying enough. Diaz wanted to be a head coach again and now has that opportunity after two successful years replacing Brent Pry as a coordinator at Penn State.
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2. Where does Penn State go from here?
A couple of familiar names with Penn State ties have already made moves this month.
USC hired former Penn State defensive back D’Anton Lynn from UCLA to be its defensive coordinator after the Bruins finished eighth in yards per play allowed. Lynn, the 34-year-old son of former Los Angeles Chargers coach Anthony Lynn, is viewed as one of the top up-and-coming coordinators in college football. And former Penn State defensive tackle Elijah Robinson, who was Texas A&M’s interim head coach/co-defensive coordinator, has already joined Fran Brown’s new staff at Syracuse.
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Who knows how seriously Franklin would’ve entertained either of them, but both are rising star Penn State lettermen who have already made moves this cycle.
So, how could Franklin replace Diaz? A few potential names to keep in mind:
• Anthony Poindexter: Let’s start in-house with Penn State’s safeties coach/co-defensive coordinator. A candidate to become the head coach at Virginia, his alma mater, two years ago, Poindexter was an integral part of Diaz’s success. The College Football Hall of Fame safety has head coaching aspirations and does have previous experience as a defensive coordinator, though it was at UConn. He was also co-defensive coordinator at Purdue prior to joining the Penn State staff in 2021. This would seem like a logical next step for the 47-year-old Poindexter and could potentially help him launch into a head coaching job, as it did for Diaz and Pry.
With all that’s at stake in 2024 — it’s the third year for Drew Allar, Nicholas Singleton, Kaytron Allen, Dani Dennis-Sutton and Abdul Carter, bringing with it high expectations — is Franklin willing to go the route of a somewhat unproven play-caller?
Franklin said he wanted a head coach for the offense, and he also wants a head coach for the defense. Poindexter carries himself that way and is tremendously respected by the players and staff. Perhaps something that works in Poindexter’s favor is that this defense doesn’t need to be completely overhauled like the offense. Maybe that key distinction helps make Poindexter the most logical candidate at this juncture?
• Tom Allen: Franklin turned to a fired head coach last time and could do so again. The former Indiana head coach was relieved of his duties Nov. 26. Indiana is on the hook for a $15.5 million buyout, which also means he doesn’t need to jump into a job right away if he doesn’t want to. Franklin has consistently spoken highly of Allen ahead of their matchups with the Hoosiers. He was previously the defensive coordinator at Indiana and South Florida and also worked on the staff at Ole Miss.
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• Joe Rossi: P.J. Fleck’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach just wrapped up his seventh season with the Gophers and his fifth as defensive coordinator. Minnesota did not have a great year (60th overall in total defense), but previously it was ninth in total defense in 2022 and third in 2021. Rossi is a Pittsburgh native. Franklin has hired a Pennsylvania native from Fleck’s staff before in Kirk Ciarrocca, though that lasted just one year.
Abdul Carter will be a leader of the Penn State defense in 2024. (Scott Taetsch / Getty Images)3. If it’s not broke, don’t greatly alter it
Franklin pointed out several times this season that the Nittany Lions were a strong team defensively long before Diaz’s arrival. Diaz took an already good defense under Brent Pry and made it great. I’d expect Franklin to hire someone whose scheme is similar.
During Franklin’s tenure, he’s had Bob Shoop, Pry and Diaz. It’s not the side of the ball that Franklin’s coaching background is most aligned with, but he’s made strong hires. Whoever he hires this time around will inherit a defense that has plenty of talent already in place. This should be an appealing job for prospective coordinators.
4. What about the rest of the staff?
When Penn State plays Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl on Dec. 30, I’d expect Poindexter to call the defense, much like interim co-offensive coordinators Ja’Juan Seider and Ty Howle will do for the offense.
Kotelnicki doesn’t have a position coach designation attached to his name at the moment, and during bowl season he’ll observe practices and familiarize himself with the roster. It makes sense that Franklin would wait for other coaching dominoes to fall before figuring out all the 2024 position coaching responsibilities. The Nittany Lions will need someone with the quarterbacks, and Diaz also coached the linebackers, so there’s a need for someone to handle that responsibility as well.
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5. This was a special two-year run
After Miami parted ways with Diaz in a very public way as it pursued and hired Mario Cristobal, Franklin didn’t hesitate to swoop in and scoop him up. Diaz was a marquee hire, and Franklin deserves credit for knocking it out of the park. It definitely was a little bit of being in the right place at the right time for Penn State, but there were other teams who wanted Diaz as well. Penn State stepped up and got it done.
However one chooses to remember this season — perhaps some are still waiting until after the Peach Bowl to come to a conclusion — the reality is that this Penn State defense deserved better. Had this offense been more potent, Penn State could’ve achieved so much more behind one of the best defenses in program history. To have a defense this dominant with the amount of talent it has and with a coordinator who players haven’t stopped raving about since he got here was a special combination. I think back to the on-field celebration at the Rose Bowl when LaVar Arrington gave Diaz a hug and told him whatever he needed, don’t hesitate to ask. Diaz became beloved quite quickly around here.
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Moving forward, to maintain the defense at this level is likely a little unrealistic, but that’s not to say Penn State still can’t have an elite defense moving forward. Though Chop Robinson is the only player to make his NFL future known thus far, the unit will likely need to reset a bit next season. But there’s still enough talent here that long-term it’s a very appealing job for the next coordinator.
(Top photo of James Franklin and Manny Diaz: Scott Taetsch / Getty Images)
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