Is Manny Diaz the next Dabo Swinney?
The canes are 2-2 with victories against Appalachian State and Central Connecticut State and losses to Alabama and Michigan State. We have the same records are Clemson, which has wins against Georgia Tech and South Carolina State and losses to Georgia and NC State. Similar wins and losses for both teams.
A disillusioned, fervent, and mostly lunatic Miami fan base who expects the Canes to be undefeated and competing for a national championship after Manny Diaz’s third year as the head coach of the Miami Hurricanes. Let’s get rid of the guy that bleeds orange and green when he is at the precipice of greatness at Miami. Let’s do it, just because we are Miami.
Let’s ignore the fact that Mark Ritch abandoned us as he ended his fourth year at Miami with a 7-6 record and a loss to Wisconsin in the Orange Bowl. Why did he leave? Could it be because he recruited the juniors and seniors in the 2021 team? Did he recruit the wrong guys? After all, we did get blown again, could not compete, in the ACC Championship game a year earlier against Dabo Swinney. Ritch’s honeymoon was over in Miami, and he knew it.
Before we make Manny’s life impossible, before we run off the guy that gives us the best chance to make Miami relevant again, let’s look at Dabo Swinney’s career as the head coach of the Clemson Tigers. In his first three years, he went 4-3, 9-5, 6-7. Yes, the coach that has won two national championships started his career with a record similar to Manny Diaz. Dabo thought he was going to get fired after the loss to Steve Spurriers South Carolina Gamecocks in the 2010 season in the meeting he had with the Clemson AD Terry Don Phillips. It wasn’t until 2011 that Clemson was able to achieve a 10-win regular season, which subsequently ended in a devastating 70-33 loss to West Virginia in the Orange Bowl. If Dabo was our coach, he might have not lasted with a 13-8 record through his first two years.
Miami and their fans need to stick with Manny Diaz because he can be the next Dabo Swinney that can guide the Miami program to the pinnacle of college football, going toe-to-toe against the likes of Alabama and Ohio State.