Don't get the UT/BYU analogy—where Diaz was a scapegoat on a broken Longhorns team under Mack Brown 2013, where Brown retired at season's end. Can't put those 550 rushing yards on Diaz as UT stumbled to an 8-5 season once Greg Robinson replaced Diaz; rolled 44-23 at home by Ole Miss the following week and then dropping three of their final four games; Oklahoma State (38-13), Baylor (30-10) and Oregon (30-7) in the Alamo Bowl.
That was a poorly-run Texas team with attitude problems, personnel issues and had fallen off greatly since their 2009 title game loss to Alabama—going 5-7, 8-5, 9-4 and 8-5 before Brown walked.
Manny has run this defense for three seasons and already weathered the storm. Now he has to rebuild the other side of the ball, which he's starting to do with Enos, through S&C improvements and better recruiting (re: competition at QB).
Perceptions and fan expectations are the biggest issue going into 2019. Seeing crap on IG (from fans) about how "ring season" (#RINGSZN) is almost here and what not. GTFOH. This program has been irrelevant for almost 15 years. 1-for-15 in the Coastal and never won an ACC title. Five head coaches in 14 seasons. Haven't had a good (enough) quarterback since Brock Berlin (who no one liked at the time as he was in Dorsey's shadow.)
All of this "The New Miami" stuff is great in the long-term as Diaz will build the program proper—but it's not an overnight fix. It will take any new coach time to put his fingerprints on a team; even if he was the DC the previous three years.
The goal for this year is winning the Coastal, finding a capable quarterback and having guys play above their level, not below. Anything else on top of that is gravy.
Miami needs to get to the ACC title game to get their crack at Clemson—and then to at least show up for that game. To be the best you have to beat the best and that starts with at least getting to games of that level.
Clemson thought they were there in 2013—Dabo's fifth full season, coming of of 11-2 in 2012. Ranked #3 early in the season for a nationally televised home showdown against #5 Florida State, the Noles rolled the Tigers, 51-14. Two years prior (2011), Clemson won the ACC and went to the Orange Bowl, only to get rolled up by West Virginia, 70-33.
Clemson is the current benchmark of greatness and what all teams aspire to be; picking up two national championships in three years, winning the ACC three years in a row and reaching the Playoffs as many times. All that said, the shift came AFTER they thought they were there in 2013—losing again to FSU in 2014 and not winning the Atlantic—buy by year SEVEN under Dabo, things took that huge step forward.
It sucks that Miami is still trying to find proper footing for the first time since 2001 after Butch Davis left, but that's what we're dealing with here. The impatience in regards to irrelevance doesn't erase the time it will take to come back—with the right coach. Coker. Shannon. Golden. Richt. None were the guy—though Mark was tremendous behind the scenes bringing the program as a whole into a modern era (re: IPF, more money for assistant coaches, etc.).
Win the Coastal and look more like the Miami Hurricanes of old. That's all I want to see out of 2019. Passion and effort.
