CORAL GABLES, Fla. — As Manny Diaz walked behind one of Miami’s returning players into a recruiting dinner last month, the player spoke up to no one in particular. “I feel like I transferred to a new school,” he said. Behind him, Diaz smiled. “That’s kind of what I wanted to hear,” Miami’s new head coach said.
No team that had a change at the top this offseason would have a better excuse to feel similar to the old regime. After all, Diaz worked in the same building as his current office for the past three seasons. Diaz did take the Temple head coach job for 17 days, but many of those days were spent with Miami’s team because Diaz didn’t want to leave the Hurricanes before their final game in the Pinstripe Bowl.