Diaz - Best UM DC in 15 Years

[Dirty Sprite]

Are you serious OP... Randy Shannon is one of the best DCs Miami has ever had. Would've been the best option available, (which I have said a number of times already) for our program.... but Diaz runs the scheme we need and Richt is a very good coach so whatever.

If he so good then why hasn't he coached a Defense since he left Miami? Look at Randy's Defense whenever he played a team with a pulse. Warning, you won't like what you see....

You can say that about every defensive coordinator you consider elite.

 

[The Franchise]

You're trying way too hard to convince yourself and others that Diaz is a top guy. He's never come close to accomplishing what Shannon did here. How can you claim he's better than Shannon when he's never come close to doing what Shannon's done?

 

[Destruction]

You're trying way too hard to convince yourself and others that Diaz is a top guy. He's never come close to accomplishing what Shannon did here. How can you claim he's better than Shannon when he's never come close to doing what Shannon's done?

Diaz destroyed Texas' defense.

 

[MiamiMD93]

The 2006 Miami team had a 7-6 record but the total defense was ranked 7th in the country... Explain that if he is a below average DC?

A couple of years ago, D'Onofrio's D was ranked [URL=https://www.canesinsight.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=15]#15 [/URL] , does that mean he was an "above average" DC?

I'm not looking at the schedule right now, but if I recall, Louisville was the only team that really put up points on that defense in 2006. Our defense was giving up like 14-17 points in the other losses, with our offense not even scoring 20 points.

The offense was always the issue in 2006 and had been for the greater part of that decade.

That's not to say that Shannon was some defensive wizard, but attempting to analogize him to Dorito is flat out stupid.

I'm not saying Randy is analogous to D'Onofrio. I was responding to the post about overall defensive stats. We all agree D'Onofrio was horrible, but somehow he fielded the #15 ranked D one season. I was making the point that you can sometimes cherry pick stats to make an argument.

 

[CoCaneHead]

The 2006 Miami team had a 7-6 record but the total defense was ranked 7th in the country... Explain that if he is a below average DC?

A couple of years ago, D'Onofrio's D was ranked [URL=https://www.canesinsight.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=15]#15 [/URL] , does that mean he was an "above average" DC?

I'm not looking at the schedule right now, but if I recall, Louisville was the only team that really put up points on that defense in 2006. Our defense was giving up like 14-17 points in the other losses, with our offense not even scoring 20 points.

The offense was always the issue in 2006 and had been for the greater part of that decade.

That's not to say that Shannon was some defensive wizard, but attempting to analogize him to Dorito is flat out stupid.

I'm not saying Randy is analogous to D'Onofrio. I was responding to the post about overall defensive stats. We all agree D'Onofrio was horrible, but somehow he fielded the #15 ranked D one season. I was making the point that you can sometimes cherry pick stats to make an argument.

15th in one category not overall..

 

[MiamiMD93]

The 2006 Miami team had a 7-6 record but the total defense was ranked 7th in the country... Explain that if he is a below average DC?

A couple of years ago, D'Onofrio's D was ranked [URL=https://www.canesinsight.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=15][URL=https://www.canesinsight.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=15]#15 [/URL] [/URL] , does that mean he was an "above average" DC?

I'm not looking at the schedule right now, but if I recall, Louisville was the only team that really put up points on that defense in 2006. Our defense was giving up like 14-17 points in the other losses, with our offense not even scoring 20 points.

The offense was always the issue in 2006 and had been for the greater part of that decade.

That's not to say that Shannon was some defensive wizard, but attempting to analogize him to Dorito is flat out stupid.

I'm not saying Randy is analogous to D'Onofrio. I was responding to the post about overall defensive stats. We all agree D'Onofrio was horrible, but somehow he fielded the [URL=https://www.canesinsight.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=15]#15 [/URL] ranked D one season. I was making the point that you can sometimes cherry pick stats to make an argument.

15th in one category not overall..

You're right...in 2014 Miami was ranked #13 in total defense, not #15 . My bad.

2014 FBS (I-A) College Football Team Statistics Leaders for Total - ESPN

 

[McGahee2TheHouse]

The 2006 Miami team had a 7-6 record but the total defense was ranked 7th in the country... Explain that if he is a below average DC?

A couple of years ago, D'Onofrio's D was ranked [URL=https://www.canesinsight.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=15]#15 [/URL] , does that mean he was an "above average" DC?

I'm not looking at the schedule right now, but if I recall, Louisville was the only team that really put up points on that defense in 2006. Our defense was giving up like 14-17 points in the other losses, with our offense not even scoring 20 points.

The offense was always the issue in 2006 and had been for the greater part of that decade.

That's not to say that Shannon was some defensive wizard, but attempting to analogize him to Dorito is flat out stupid.

I'm not saying Randy is analogous to D'Onofrio. I was responding to the post about overall defensive stats. We all agree D'Onofrio was horrible, but somehow he fielded the #15 ranked D one season. I was making the point that you can sometimes cherry pick stats to make an argument.

I understand that, but your point is totally irrelevant since Shannon consistently fielded Top 10 defenses as a DC, including in 2006 when Butch's players and influence were long-gone. Dirty Sprite wasn't cherry-picking at all. How can you cherry-pick where a trend is constant?

You're trying way too hard to convince yourself and others that Diaz is a top guy. He's never come close to accomplishing what Shannon did here. How can you claim he's better than Shannon when he's never come close to doing what Shannon's done?

It's crazy how so many posters are totally irrational when it comes to discussing Randy Shannon.

 

[FireSwasey]

It's amazing how easy it is to convince folks of stuff if u just say what they want to hear. It's how politics works.

"Are you kidding???" -- Al Golden......fan reaction? "This guy has swag! He's the best coach we've ever hired".

"Diaz runs an aggressive 4-3"---blog post......fan reaction? "This is the best DC we've ever had gusym"

Let's put it into perspective. Randy's defenses, when he was HC and the defenses took a notable step back, were actually still all better than the defenses Diaz has put in his career.

 

[roam305]

Well more people have hired Diaz to coach their Defense then have hired Shannon.
So going by what the market tells us it values Diaz more

 

[FrancisSawyer]

Getting back to the topic of Diaz, I don't for one second think that The Grim Richter hired him so he could produce average defenses. Diaz isn't here to trot out defenses that align with his career average. He is here to run a dominant Miami defense. That's the plan at least. Richt wants Diaz and Kool to work together to create something much better than each of them could do on their own.

I believe we are going to see a very aggressive defense that has elements of the Diaz defense but tweaked a little to best fit the talent in SoFla. I believe Kool is a huge key to this. I don't believe Diaz has ever had the luxury of working with a DL coach of Kools caliber. I believe the key difference in what we will see here at UM will be a DL specifically the DEs that take pressure of what the LBs are usually asked to do in the scheme Diaz runs. This is all speculation on my part but it does stand to reason.

 

[Canezum5]

Getting back to the topic of Diaz, I don't for one second think that The Grim Richter hired him so he could produce average defenses. Diaz isn't here to trot out defenses that align with his career average. He is here to run a dominant Miami defense. That's the plan at least. Richt wants Diaz and Kool to work together to create something much better than each of them could do on their own.

I believe we are going to see a very aggressive defense that has elements of the Diaz defense but tweaked a little to best fit the talent in SoFla. I believe Kool is a huge key to this. I don't believe Diaz has ever had the luxury of working with a DL coach of Kools caliber. I believe the key difference in what we will see here at UM will be a DL specifically the DEs that take pressure of what the LBs are usually asked to do in the scheme Diaz runs. This is all speculation on my part but it does stand to reason.

I think you hit the nail on the head with this one.

Its known that Diaz defense puts a lot of pressure on the back end of the defense to perform at a high level. With Kools group creating chaos, i think Diaz defense may thrive like it never has before.

He is obviously good At disguising coverages behind blitzes; but With kool he won't have to blitz as much as his stats have shown which will allow his blitz looks to be even more exotic.

Smart Safeties, SMart backers, aggressive corners and lethal D-line.

Sounds like a deadly combo.. Lets hope it works.

 

[FrancisSawyer]

Getting back to the topic of Diaz, I don't for one second think that The Grim Richter hired him so he could produce average defenses. Diaz isn't here to trot out defenses that align with his career average. He is here to run a dominant Miami defense. That's the plan at least. Richt wants Diaz and Kool to work together to create something much better than each of them could do on their own.

I believe we are going to see a very aggressive defense that has elements of the Diaz defense but tweaked a little to best fit the talent in SoFla. I believe Kool is a huge key to this. I don't believe Diaz has ever had the luxury of working with a DL coach of Kools caliber. I believe the key difference in what we will see here at UM will be a DL specifically the DEs that take pressure of what the LBs are usually asked to do in the scheme Diaz runs. This is all speculation on my part but it does stand to reason.

I think you hit the nail on the head with this one.

Its known that Diaz defense puts a lot of pressure on the back end of the defense to perform at a high level. With Kools group creating chaos, i think Diaz defense may thrive like it never has before.

He is obviously good At disguising coverages behind blitzes; but With kool he won't have to blitz as much as his stats have shown which will allow his blitz looks to be even more exotic.

Smart Safeties, SMart backers, aggressive corners and lethal D-line.

Sounds like a deadly combo.. Lets hope it works.

Amen to that brother! One of my favorite DC's of all time was Jim Johnson(RIP). He didn't really put it all together until Andy Reid hired him in Philadelphia. That is the type of situation I am hoping for here. Hopefully Diaz, Kool and the gang will build a great system that players will trip over themselves trying to play in.

There is one thing I am fairly certain of and that is that The Grim Richter didn't take this gig to achieve moral victories. He's not here for a participation ribbon. He won't be satisfied with winning the Coastal. My point is that if Diaz can't deliver, Brother Mark will have no problem donning the Grim Richter attire and using his sickle.

 

[d--1]

I know there are many on the board that are disappointed in the hire however I think he is the best DC at UM in 15 years - my argument
- Donofrio - Dont need to argue this one
- John Lovett - After UM was coaching Hartford Colonials special teams
- Bill Young - After UM few years at Ok State then became a HIGH SCHOOL coach
- Tim Walton - Great DB coach - never asked to be DC at a major program
- Randy Shannon - Yes he was the DC during some great times but no one has hired him for the DC since

You have to go back to the Gorilla to find a DC that after they left Miami..... someone else wanted them in a big job

You're argument is based completely on what all of these guys did after Miami. Bill Young was older than all of the rest of these guys, so the fact that he later became a HS coach is meaningless. There was a reason Ok St. came in an offered him 800K a year at a time when that was pretty rare.

Not to mention no one knows what Diaz's path will be after Miami. You should look at what they did at Miami though instead of the where-are-they-now approach.

 

[Destruction]

Randy Shannon as the Hurricanes defensive coordinator

Defense Ranking:

2001 – 6th Frank Broyles Award winner
2002 – 7th
2003 – 2nd
2004 – 28th
2005 – 4th
2006 – 7th

Manny Diaz has never coached an elite defense. MD Sh*t the bed at Texas.

Will Muschamp was UT's DC in 2010. Muschamp's Defense gave up 300 ypg for a 5-7 team.

Manny Diaz as U. of Texas DC

2011: 315 ypg No improvement!
2012: 412 ypg Sh*t hit the Fan! Mack Brown should have fired MD after the season
2013: Diaz was fired after game 2, where BYU rushed for 550 yards against Manny Diaz' Sh*tty Defense


MD is our DC. I hope he does well. If MD sucks, no one should be surprised!

 

[ncncanes]

I know there are many on the board that are disappointed in the hire however I think he is the best DC at UM in 15 years - my argument
- Donofrio - Dont need to argue this one
- John Lovett - After UM was coaching Hartford Colonials special teams
- Bill Young - After UM few years at Ok State then became a HIGH SCHOOL coach
- Tim Walton - Great DB coach - never asked to be DC at a major program
- Randy Shannon - Yes he was the DC during some great times but no one has hired him for the DC since

You have to go back to the Gorilla to find a DC that after they left Miami..... someone else wanted them in a big job

You're argument is based completely on what all of these guys did after Miami. Bill Young was older than all of the rest of these guys, so the fact that he later became a HS coach is meaningless. There was a reason Ok St. came in an offered him 800K a year at a time when that was pretty rare.

Not to mention no one knows what Diaz's path will be after Miami. You should look at what they did at Miami though instead of the where-are-they-now approach.

No - if you are really talented you get offers -- even if you have NCAA issues or you crash you motorcycle with a coed on the back, you get big jobs. Most of our former DC's havent been offered big jobs. I agree $600K is a big deal for Young however he also is Ok State alumni

 

[Awsi Dooger]

Over the weekend I watched two Mississippi State tapes I had from 2015. My impression of Diaz' defensive scheme was positive, beyond what I expected. Some impressions:

* Pressure off the edge is the obvious priority. Everything flows around that. I'm more of a disruption up the gut type, per the Canes defensive tackle heritage, but I'll settle for any type of aggressiveness right now

* I was surprised that the linemen generally play about a foot off the ball as opposed to tight as possible to the line. One end often drops a full half yard or more off the ball

* First down is very straight forward. Virtually always a base 4 down linemen front. Some blitzing. Second down offers more variety, generally with four linemen but sometimes three with an outside linebacker standing up off the edge

* Third down and passing situation is where it gets wild. Tons of variety. Virtually always a 3 man front. The blitz packages show up here. Diaz will often overload one side or the other and send waves. Double linebacker blitzes. The slot cover guy will blitz. The defense can get burned when they overload the wrong side and a receiver slips across the formation into wide open spaces. This defense relies on intimidation.

* The majority of the blitzes are from 2-3 steps off the line of scrimmage from an otherwise standard looking setup, as opposed to snortling and obvious prior to the snap, or very late blitzes

* I was impressed that you don't see the last second indecision and panic. The personnel is out there and ready to go, even on third down, as opposed to the palms up shuffling comedy act under D'Onofrio. The linebackers and safeties communicate with each other consistently prior to the snap, turning heads to look at each other and hand gestures when necessary to identify responsibility

* Diaz will spy a mobile quarterback. He did that effectively in the bowl to thwart Bissett. That spy often attacked in the late going once the play had unfolded without quarterback running as a threat

* Mississippi State 2015 had some instinctive defenders but mostly a lot of rag tag looking guys, not quite Miami level of talent. We should improve on the bottom line via that upgrade alone