Dan Mullen will open his second season at Florida against a familiar foe after closing his first one with a Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl win. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
Carter's Corner: Gators-Miami Opener Adds a Mullen-Diaz Twist
Monday, December 31, 2018 | Football, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Not that the 2019 Gators-Miami season opener in Orlando needed any additional buzz, but hey, it got some Sunday.
Not once, but twice.
First, Hurricanes coach Mark Richt, a favorite target of Gators fans during his 15-year run at Georgia, unexpectedly announced his retirement from coaching. Next, before Richt could clean off his desk, Miami announced the hiring of long-time Temple coach Manny Diaz. OK, Diaz was at Temple all of three weeks after leaving his post as Miami's defensive coordinator to take over the Owls.
"I never saw this coming, no one did," Diaz said in a release sent out by UM late Sunday night.
He can say that again.
The first game between Florida and Miami in six years now has an additional storyline: a matchup between Gators head coach Dan Mullen and Diaz, his two-time defensive coordinator at Mississippi State.
Mullen first hired Diaz at Mississippi State in 2010, his second year in Starkville, to replace Carl Torbush, Mullen's defensive coordinator his first season as a head coach. Diaz joined Mullen's staff after four seasons at Middle Tennessee State.
Dan Mullen and Manny Diaz celebrate a win during their time together at Mississippi State. (Photo: Courtesy of HailStateBeat.com)
In a coaching carousel twist, Diaz left the Bulldogs after only one season to become defensive coordinator at Texas, a spot vacated by Will Muschamp when he replaced Urban Meyer at Florida.
You want more carousel twists? Diaz returned to Mississippi State as defensive coordinator in 2015 to replace Geoff Collins, who left the Bulldogs to join Jim McElwain's inaugural staff at Florida. Meanwhile, Diaz departed Mississippi State once again in 2016 to join Richt's staff at Miami.
A Miami native, Diaz spent three seasons leading the Hurricanes' defense until taking the Temple job, once more replacing Collins, who left Temple after two seasons as head coach to take over Georgia Tech.
"I know he's been around some really good head coaches," Mullen said earlier this month when Diaz took the Temple job. "Knowing how intelligent and how sharp he is, a lot of things I did was take different notes from every program of things I really liked and things he wasn't as high on and his personality. I know he's gotten that opportunity to go do it. He's ready to step into that role, and I'm sure he's going to be really successful."
Needless to say but perhaps worth saying anyway, Mullen and Diaz are very familiar with one another.
Mullen recalled this month how he was impressed with Diaz's defense at MTSU during Mississippi State's 27-6 win at MTSU in Mullen's first season as a head coach. The Bulldogs managed 333 yards of total offense but the game was never out of reach until late.
A couple of months later when Mullen went looking for a new defensive coordinator, he contacted Diaz.
"I was really impressed with how he was on the sidelines, his energy, his excitement,'' Mullen said. "I went, interviewed him for the job, and was really impressed with how intelligent he was. He's an extremely intelligent guy."
You can bet on Aug. 31 at Camping World Stadium both coaches will be pumped. Diaz for his head coaching debut, Mullen to build off Florida's 10-3 season and likely spot in the top 10 of next season's preseason poll.
