It’s official: Penn State DC Manny Diaz leaves Happy Valley to become Duke’s new head coach
Penn State has another coordinator position to fill this offseason.
Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz was officially announced as the new head coach at Duke on Thursday night. Multiple reports hinted at the inevitable throughout the day, but Duke football finally confirmed the hire around 9 p.m.
Diaz was with the Nittany Lions’ program for two years, and he was previously the head coach at Miami, where he went 21-15 before joining Penn State.
He’s the second coordinator Penn State will have to replace after head coach James Franklin fired offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich in November. Franklin hired Andy Kotelnicki on Dec. 1 to fill the vacancy.
Diaz’s departure means the program will have new offensive and defensive coordinators for the first time since 2016 when Brent Pry was elevated to DC and Joe Moorhead was hired as the OC.
Franklin will have to hire Diaz’s replacement while the team prepares for the Peach Bowl — which will be played on Dec. 30 — and navigates the roster management portion of the offseason with the transfer portal open until Jan. 2.
This story was originally published December 7, 2023 at 10:38 AM.
