Flip back the pages to 2021, and news flash: Miami Hurricanes HC Manny Diaz has just been fired! Uncertainty and shock followed, but so did a call from James Franklin from Penn State.​ Franklin’s call came less than 24 hours after Diaz was relieved of his duties. It was a decision that was made in haste. And by quick, we mean, “The body wasn’t even cold at the funeral,” Diaz quipped months later. But it only goes to say that Franklin’s confidence was palpable: “When you’re able to go out and hire a guy like Manny… he was able to get buy-in right away.”

The son of the former Miami mayor and the face of “The U’s” revival was dealt a tough hand. Marred by okayish performances and fan frustration, Miami finally cut the Gordian knot in a whiff. The optics were brutal. It wasn’t just that he was fired—it was how he was fired: left twisting in the wind while Miami negotiated with Mario Cristobal in full view of the media. For Diaz, who had climbed the ranks with blue-collar grit and schematic brilliance, the painful and very public exit was an undignified fall. But for Franklin, the math was simple: “the most experienced, successful defensive coordinator that we could get,” and Diaz fit that vision seamlessly.

And the numbers did justice to that vision too. Under Diaz’s defensive cap, Penn State finished second in the Big Ten in scoring defense and fifth nationally in 2022; finished first in total defense—allowing just 223.3 yards per game in 2023—as well as first in yards per play (3.91), sacks per game (4.15), and tackles for loss per game (8.8). All good till here, but Franklin wasn’t one to hold anyone back for that matter, albeit one condition: “We got to make sure that assistants don’t leave for assistant positions and coordinators don’t leave to be coordinators. If guys have a chance for a clear, obvious promotion, we want that for him.” Just months on, words couldn’t ring more true, considering Diaz only left Penn State after a head coach offer came his way from Duke. To this date, Diaz can’t be more grateful.

Here’s a bite from the latest episode of Next Up with Adam Breneman podcast, where Diaz opened up about the value of that opportunity—and how much Franklin’s consistency meant to him in that moment. “The players know exactly what that program is going to be. The coaches know exactly what that program is going to be. You don’t have to worry about, all of a sudden, wide variances of what mood is somebody in today. And that’s going to dictate how we decide to go about things today… It’s such a unique place; the culture of toughness and hard work is just baked into those mountains somehow.”

“Coaches are the biggest thieves. There were a couple different things about how James ran the program that actually… You have a better perspective of because you saw what it was like when you were doing it. And now you have a different perspective,” Diaz said when asked if he ever took notes from James and his head coaching style.

Those small observations, picked up in passing, ended up shaping the way Diaz now runs his own program. But for the Penn State young talents, the slicked-back dark-haired coach helped turn a good defense into the best in the country.

Manny Diaz was a natural at Penn State, according to James Franklin

Diaz will always be grateful to Franklin for calling him, as his future remained unclear in Miami. Those weeks of speculation after a 24-15 record were testing times for the Duke HC. The two seemed to be destined for each other. Diaz would not be the coach he is today if not for his tenure at PSU. Franklin himself was having a difficult time because his trusted DC Brent Pry left camp for a better job at Virginia Tech.

Franklin told NYT, “When you’re able to go out and hire a guy like Manny and he comes in and right away is able to get up in front of the room and talk about how we’re going to play defense and how we’re going to build on that foundation, he was able to get buy-in right away. And then in some ways, in some areas, has even taken it to another level.” Diaz was behind one of the country’s elite defenses, and there was no second doubt about that.

Diaz will always have a special place for Franklin in his heart, despite moving to a different school. The two worked to create some of the best years of football for Penn State. It was tough to see Diaz leave a program that seemed like a place he had long belonged to. These are two coaches who truly know what it takes to shape a team into one that gets results. They work hard to prove themselves every season.