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Manny and WQAM and other thoughts (long)

Jassid82 said:
I don't like starting threads too often unless I am just really really disturbed at something and I need a space to vent. Thank god CIS gives us that. Have no idea what we did back in the 80s and 90s after tough losses!

Manny was on WQAM this morning. 7am sharp. I don't have the link but here are the points.

*I am starting to get the feeling (and I know its been said on here a million times) that Manny just doesn't know how to fix this "disease" he is talking about within the program. And it is bothering him. Its like having a child that acts out all the time and no matter how many times you beat them, ground them..none of it works. They just won't act right. I heard it in Mannys voice when he talked about things that he saw leading up to the game that look familiar when they came off other bye weeks (in other words, guys BSing around and not taking game prep serious). He even said that the hotel walk through was a mess the night before. So he knew this team was not prepared and prayed that they would snap out of it come kickoff. That was disturbing to hear as a fan.

*I got the feeling that even though he loves many of the upperclassmen (Shaq and Pinck included) I think he is ready for them to go. I think they just aren't the leaders that he thought and expected them to be as he is basically a "HC in training". I think he depended on the Srs to really takeover as leaders and it didn't happen like he expected. In fact, I would go as far as to say that I got the impression that maybe the Srs are the ones that are leading this wave of not taking every week serious. You can tell Manny was guarded with his words. But I was trying to read between the lines. Whenever a HC says, "The 2020 class is hyped up and they actually have a group chat. They have the mindset that none of this will happen on our watch and that's the mentality we need. At some point, there will be a class to come in and turn this around.", then you know that he is not fully happy with how this Sr class conducted themselves as a whole leadership wise.

*He didn't get to much into Xs and Os. It was more like a therapy session for him. He was really in deep thought about the season as a whole and how things got to this point to where a team this talented is 6-5. He alluded to the fact that some of the players assume that just because you have that "U" on your helmet that certain things are a given. Like beating FIU. I got the feeling that he doesn't think it is Xs and Os related but a mental thing with this team. One thing I thought was interesting was that he said that this team feeds off of Jarren. When Jarren came out flat, the whole team went into the tank. That is a good thing and bad thing I guess. Shows he is the unquestioned leader of this team but Good God man..if Jarren doesn't have his "A" game on any given Saturday, we can assume that we are going to more than likely lose??


Those are the basics of the 20min interview. Said he doesn't expect any decommits in the 2020 class. They are solid as a rock. 2021 he is expecting some guys to drop.

I'll say this, Manny isn't going anywhere this year. That 3 game winning streak saved his job at least. But I am going to need him to stay off the yachts this offseason, stay out of the jewelry store conjuring up new pieces for next season, and stop the bravado. I am hoping he is humbled and realized being the HC at UM is more then just wearing that U on your shirt and hat, it takes hard work and dedication. He needs to make some tough decisions on his staff.

He needs to study every coach that had a bad record there first year and what they did to turn it around the second season. (Nick Saban at Bama, Urban at UF, etc) I know it sounds corny, but he needs to get into the lab and study every tendency and every detail of what coaches like this did to completely turn there program around in such a short time. His job depends on it.

He needs to make the tough decision and fire Enos and Baker. Gotta start from scratch. Neither of them are good coaches are even good recruiters. Double whammy in my book.

He needs to start taking this job serious. I look back on the last offseason and realize that Manny just didn't take this serious. He thought he could walk in, give a few speeches, hire a "good OC" and just coast to 10-11 wins. That yacht ride he took to the banquet should have been a sign for us. It was cool at the time but it looks extremely foolish now.

Sorry for the long review. I know posters will hit me with the "None of this matters. Blake and Manny have to go". Well, if they don't go, doesn't mean I am turning in my O&G gear either. Now am I going to renew my season tix? Not so sure yet. That said, I am looking to see a new Manny Diaz going into Spring ball. New focus and renewed energy. Playtime is over. His HC career depends on it. Neg away. LOL.
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Manny sounds like he would be a great politician.
 
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This is the 4th game in which the team was not prepared to play (UNC, VT Tech, G-Tech, FIU), three of which were after a bye week.
That is all coaching.
All of it, 1st year staff or not. VT Tech, ok 3 INTs put you in a bad spot. UNC (4th & 17th vs a True Freshman QB in his 2nd game), G-Tech on a reboot, FIU, etc, etc).
Manny will get a 2nd season. He’s not getting fired although this is a fireable pattern. Only way he gets the boot is a similar season next year. 3 or less loses, he will get a 3rd year. Get ready for it with this board & AD (as his job depends on Manny being successful).
 
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rokulika said:
Manny is still the HC. That's all you need to know. UM does not want a competitive football program. You can lose to FIU and keep your job.
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And Blake is still the AD.

We lead the nation in job security, apathy and lack of accountability. We employ the unemployable. Only at UM.
 
What Manny needs to do is take a page out of Herb Brooks 1980 Olympic Hockey Team practice exercise. When he saw his team not taking the game serious during a exhibition warm up game he made them to sprints, puking until they understood who they are representing and playing for.
 
This is the biggest problem from promoting within when the results prior to a coaching change are mediocre. Rarely do these moves work. It's twice as hard to earn respect. UM does not learn from their prior mistakes.
Manny should have been allowed to go to Temple. If you go 7-5 or 6-6 at Temple, your first year, while learning, it's fine. That's a learning to HC job. If you go 7-5 or 6-6 and lose games the way we have this year, the magnifying glass is hot as fawk at UM. We needed a seasoned coach that has proven himself somewhere else and has the respect right away. Perhaps Manny never playing the game may also be a factor, who knows!
 
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I don't question Manny's love for the program and his genuine desire to be the one to bring it back. (For example, Golden didn't want this job. Didn't love the program. He used us to get the PSU gig.) I say that to say, that is probably one thing that is holding the UM admins up from firing him immediately. They know he has the passion necessary to turn it around. And I have left the bandwagon that this is about money. I believe we have that too. Losing to Butch of all people and Manny still have his job 24hrs later, as much as some of those UM admins hate Butch, I know there has to be a deeper reason.

That said, I have no clue why Blake still has his job.
 
At the end of the day, we're in big trouble because the more Manny talks (which is way too much), the more he shows that he just doesn't get it.

He keeps falling back to "effort, accountability, being prepared, executing, etc." - all focused on the players. Then he goes on to talk about the "2020 class fixing things" lol

Earth to Manny, it's your job to fix things and hire the right coaches. He hasn't done that and doesn't see that he needs to change or the coaching staff needs to change. When your a good CEO coach and you hire the right staff to keep guys accountable, this is the last problem your should have as a football team.

We're done guys. Another stubborn coach that has his head too far up his own *** to see what needs to change
 
I think it's obvious that for whatever reason Diaz is not commanding respect. And I have to admit, the way he looks on the sidelines doesn't inspire me at all. He looks lost and clueless when things aren't going our way. Like he's unsure of himself. If I see it then the **** kids see it. People made excuses when Carter didn't leave the field in a timely manner after the targeting call. People make excuses when our kids get dumb penalties. People make excuses when our kids are celebrating after making a tackle 15 yards down field while we're down by double digits. At the end of the day it's on Diaz, and just like with Shannon who also threw the players under the bus, Diaz is going to crash and burn if he doesn't realize that 1) the coaching staff is a major part of the problem and 2) he has to pick it up with regards to recruiting along the OL (especially OT) and adding speed to the team. If he doesn't fix those two, then he'll be sitting there blaming a totally different crop of players for his failure as he's jettisoned out the door.
 
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Jassid82 said:
That said, I have no clue why Blake still has his job.
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Sure you do. We lead the nation in apathy and lack of accountability. We employ the unemployable.

Blake was hired (technically fell into) for a job he wasn’t qualified for and that happens all the time at UM.
 
LatinCane said:
This is the biggest problem from promoting within when the results prior to a coaching change are mediocre. Rarely do these moves work. It's twice as hard to earn respect. UM does not learn from their prior mistakes.
Manny should have been allowed to go to Temple. If you go 7-5 or 6-6 at Temple, your first year, while learning, it's fine. That's a learning to HC job. If you go 7-5 or 6-6 and lose games the way we have this year, the magnifying glass is hot as fawk at UM. We needed a seasoned coach that has proven himself somewhere else and has the respect right away. Perhaps Manny never playing the game may also be a factor, who knows!
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100% regarding the hiring within the program. You only do it if you have been winning (I.e. Ohio State, Clemson, Miami with Coker in 2001). Not with the season Richt has last year.
 
nvlahos said:
At the end of the day, we're in big trouble because the more Manny talks (which is way too much), the more he shows that he just doesn't get it.

He keeps falling back to "effort, accountability, being prepared, executing, etc." - all focused on the players. Then he goes on to talk about the "2020 class fixing things" lol

Earth to Manny, it's your job to fix things and hire the right coaches. He hasn't done that and doesn't see that he needs to change or the coaching staff needs to change. When your a good CEO coach and you hire the right staff to keep guys accountable, this is the last problem your should have as a football team.

We're done guys. Another stubborn coach that has his head too far up his own *** to see what needs to change
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Manny's sell wasn't hard. He convinced the UM admins that all he needed was a blank check to hire a great OC and offensive staff and we would be back! Even threw in that his hire would be someone from Bama and im sure the UM admins **** hear had orgasims..Talk about a plan that backfired.
 
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Lol, listening now. Manny asks "where were the signs." I think it was evident against UF that we weren't a well-coached team.
 
Hoyacane1620 said:
You really said it well. Thank you. I listened to him this morning too and had many of the same thoughts - especially your first two comments. The part about Jarren makes sense, especially after the way he has played since he came in at Pitt. The defense has been able to lean on the offense a few times and that was NOT there on Saturday.

IDK if Manny thought the job would be easy or didn't take it seriously; I do think he never expected to have the challenges he has had on defense. Small let down, yes. But not the total breakdown at times that has occurred. After all, he installed his protege as the DC. I think he believed that the offense would be the part that would take some time developing given the state of the OL and the QB room from last year. ( It had to be pretty clear by mid spring camp , when Tate Martell was clearly NOT going to win the starting QB job and the OL was still so up in the air).

Will he fire either or both of his coordinators ? IDK. Will Enos just walk away? To me, Baker is the first to go. Manny needs to take over the defense. As far as the offense, at the very least a hard look at the philosophy and scheme has to be done. We cannot continue to waste the talent of the skill guys on this team.
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Ni, Manny should not take over the defense. He should fire Baker and replace him with someone better. With that being said the first person that needs to go is Blake James and replace him with someone that is qualified, once that happens everything will take care of itself.
 
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