The Miami Hurricanes will have a new leader for their football team for the upcoming season.
The school announced Monday it had parted ways with head coach Manny Diaz after three seasons leading the 'Canes.
“We are grateful to Coach Diaz for his many contributions to our campus community and to his native South Florida, and for the strong leadership and exemplary character he exhibited during his tenure at the University,” said President Julio Frenk. “We wish him and his family the very best as they move forward.”
Diaz went 21-15 during his time at UM and led the 'Canes to bowl berths in all three seasons. Miami went 7-5 in the 2021 season, including winning five of their final six games.
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In a statement posted on Twitter later Monday, Diaz said he was "disappointed in the University's decision and the manner in which this played out over the last few weeks."
His tenure at Miami had plenty of ups and downs, including wins over ranked teams Pittsburgh and N.C. State this past season while suffering losses to FIU in 2019 and rival Florida State this past season.
His job security had been in question for some time, and speculation ramped up three weeks ago when the Hurricanes dismissed athletic director Blake James — one of the people who hired Diaz in December 2018.
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There were also arguments to keep him. The recruits he landed in the last two years proved to be among Miami’s very best players in 2021. Miami was the lone ACC team to beat conference champion Pitt this season and after the regular-season finale, many players took to social media to post support for Diaz.
No word was announced on who will serve as head coach when the 'Canes take on Washington State in the Sun Bowl on December 31st.
Shortly after Diaz was fired, it was learned that former UM player and current Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal would be hired to fill the spot.
Diaz, who spent three seasons as defensive coordinator at Miami before being named head coach, is a Miami native and the son of former Miami Mayor Manny Diaz.
Diaz’s firing continues what is now an 18-year cycle of impatience at Miami, starting with the season in which the Hurricanes joined the ACC. That was 2004, and the Hurricanes are still waiting for their first conference championship.
Larry Coker — the last coach to bring the Hurricanes a national title in 2001 — was fired despite going 53-9 in his first five seasons, then managing only a 6-6 mark in his sixth and final regular season with the Hurricanes.
Randy Shannon was 28-22 in the next four seasons. Al Golden — who didn’t know he was inheriting a program that was about to get hammered by NCAA sanctions thanks in large part to the actions of rogue former booster who went to prison for masterminding a Ponzi scheme — went 32-25. Mark Richt went 26-13 in three seasons, then retired with five years left on his contract amid constant complaints from fans that his son Jon shouldn’t have been coaching Miami’s quarterbacks.
