Why Manny Diaz Is Emerging as the Perfect Fit to Lead Penn State Football’s Next Era
With Urban Meyer reportedly told “no” by Penn State and Lane Kiffin on a $9 million SEC deal that could still lure him to Florida or LSU, Duke head coach Manny Diaz’s name keeps rising to the top of PSU’s athletic director Pat Kraft’s short list as the next head coach to lead his program.
Penn State’s coaching search has felt like a Hall of Fame ballot, stacked with legends and hopefuls, loaded with longshots, and built to make every water cooler in the northeast corridor get an ear infection.
Two weeks ago, Urban Meyer’s name was apparently at the top of the list.
But, multiple reports confirm Penn State told him no. It wasn’t Meyer’s decision to walk away.
That’s a clear message from Kraft and the administration that they’re not chasing celebrity; they’re searching for fit.
Meanwhile, Lane Kiffin remains the most intriguing wildcard in the country.
He’s earning roughly $9 million per year at Ole Miss, and if Florida or LSU come calling, he’ll listen.
But, no one close to the situation expects him to leave the SEC for a northern rebuild in mid-November, not with his Rebels still in contention and two southern heavyweights about to make their own hires.
Indiana, who may have the hottest-named coach in the country, in Curt Cignetti, just made sure their guy isn’t going any where, handing him a shiny new $93 million dollar contract.
Shortly thereafter, Nebraska followed suit and did something similar with their head Husker, Matt Rhule.
Why Manny Diaz Remains a Top Fit for Penn State Football
The Field Narrows
Cignetti and Rhule’s extensions narrow the Penn State coaching search, and the more it narrows, the stronger and wider Diaz’ candidacy looks.
He was Penn State’s defensive coordinator for the 2022 season and on the headset for the Rose Bowl win over Utah on January 2, 2023.
Diaz’s defense that day suffocated one of the Pac-12’s best attacks and helped deliver the program’s first Rose Bowl victory since 1995. A year later his unit ranked near the top nationally in almost every defensive category, finishing top five in yards allowed, first in sacks, and top three in scoring defense before Duke came calling.
Now he’s a sitting Power Five head coach with a reputation for culture, discipline, and recruiting reach.
Diaz is young enough, 50, to build a decade-long legacy, but seasoned enough to avoid the mistakes that doomed his first head-coaching stint at Miami. Most importantly, he’s already proven his system wins in Happy Valley.
Manny Diaz’s Defense Travels
At Miami, Diaz finished 21–15 from 2019 through 2021 along with turnover chain-notoriety. The ending wasn’t smooth, but context matters.
The Hurricanes were dealing with booster interference, quarterback turnover, and early NIL chaos. Despite that, his defenses ranked near the top of the ACC in sacks and tackles for loss.
That resilience is part of what made Penn State pounce on him in 2022 and what now makes Duke his latest proving ground.
If Penn State were to hire him, the transition would be smoother than almost any other candidate on the market.
He knows the landscape, the academic standards, the boosters, and the regional recruiting footprint.
He understands what the Penn State job demands.
Yet, he’s been away long enough to bring back a fresh perspective, one informed by running his own program in the ACC. That combination of continuity and elevation is rare.
From a program-identity standpoint, hiring Diaz doubles down on the part of Penn State that already travels in November, or at least jaded to. He’s commanded defenses that dictate games. His PSU units were built on pressure, havoc, and depth; that’s exactly how you survive a Big Ten landscape that just added more heavyweights—and how you level the Michigan/Ohio State gap while you modernize the offense with your next OC hire.
There’s also a real locker room factor here.
Diaz is universally respected by players who’ve played under him.
The move would also resonate with the locker room. Players who thrived under Diaz, Chop Robinson, Abdul Carter, Kalen King,often credited his energy and clarity of message.
“He made you want to run through a wall, and then do it again,” one former starter said this week. In an era where culture can swing a season, that kind of leadership still matters.
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Hiring Manny Diaz Sends a Message
Hiring Diaz would also send a message to recruits and fans that Penn State wants to win now.
The expanded 12-team playoff changes everything. The program doesn’t need a total rebuild; it needs a sharper edge. Diaz provides that.
Diaz can protect Penn State’s defensive identity while modernizing the offense with a forward-thinking coordinator. He’s a leader who can walk in on day one and demand excellence because he’s already earned it in that same building.
Critics will point to his 21–15 mark at Miami and question whether that’s elite enough. Fair question.
But, plenty of successful second acts began with lessons learned the hard way.
The version of Diaz that would return to State College is battle-tested, more self-aware, and better prepared to handle the expectations that come with a program of this magnitude.
In the end, the biggest factor isn’t flash, it’s fit.
Meyer is off the board because Penn State made that call.
Kiffin will likely stay in the SEC orbit if he moves at all.
Diaz is the one candidate who fits every practical need: familiarity, recruiting reach, leadership experience, and proof of concept inside the program.
He already built one of the nation’s best defenses in blue and white. He already knows what winning in Happy Valley feels like and this time, he wouldn’t be an assistant making calls from the press box. He’d be the man running the whole show.
It’s a show that had gotten old and repetitive under James Franklin.
It’s a show that needs a new expectation.
It’s a show that needs a program with a new ring leader, who can take that new expectation of winning and turn it into the gold standard, a gold standard his players could wear on their fingers.
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It was at PRISM where Staszak produced live games and began his career as an on-air reporter.
After a couple of brief stints with CBS-3, WB-17 and WGAL-8 in Lancaster, PA, Staszak began a 12 year stretch at FOX 29 where he became the lead sportscaster in 2007. It was there that Staszak found himself in the middle of Philadelphia Phillies World Series Championship coverage that earned him an Emmy nomination for best sports reporter in 2008.It was one of five Emmy nominations that Staszak earned over the course of his career.
All told Staszak covered three World Series, two Stanley Cup Finals, an NBA Finals and one Super Bowl during his television run.
Staszak left the TV business for 97.5 The Fanatic in 2013, where he enjoyed eight years bloviating his beliefs on how a professional football team should be run.In 2018 when he fortunate enough to be the first sports talk host in the city, along with cohort Zach Gelb, to provide post-game coverage of the first Super Bowl Championship for the city’s beloved Philadelphia Eagles.
Staszak was also a writer for 97.5 The Fanatic along with 4 Philly Sports and now covers Penn State athletics for NittanyCentral.com.
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