Jury Should Still Be Out on Manny Diaz
Sep 5, 2015; Hattiesburg, MS, USA; Southern Miss Golden Eagles running back Justice Hayes (7) is defended by Mississippi State Bulldogs linebacker Richie Brown (39) in the second half of their game at M.M. Roberts Stadium. Mississippi State won, 34-16. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
When Geoff Collins left Mississippi State to head to Florida, Bulldog fans all over waited anxiously to see who would replace him. Fans of the Bulldogs wanted a home run of a hire.
A sizable portion of the fan base thought Mullen struck out when he hired Manny Diaz to be the new head man on the defensive side of the ball.
Manny Diaz has a wealth of experience as a defensive coordinator. He made his biggest splash in 2010 at Mississippi State. His influence took a unit that was among the worst in the SEC in 2009, and he turned them into a rock solid unit in 2010. The improvement did not go unnoticed.
Manny Diaz was hired by Mack Brown to revamp the Longhorns defense after Will Muschamp left to become the head coach at Florida. Things never went as well as he had hoped. Diaz was let go in the middle of the 2013 season. He was hired by Louisiana Tech in 2014, and showed he still had what it took to revamp a defense.
The hiring of Manny Diaz brought an incredibly mixed reaction by fans. Some loved the hire because Diaz was familiar with Mullen and Mississippi State and showed he could be succeed. Others took a wait and see approach to the hire. And there were some who thought it was a retread of a hire and weren’t happy.
Fast Forward to Saturday for the season opener in Hattiesburg. The Golden Eagles moved the ball effectively, and the cries of those who hated the hire were being heard loud and clear. But I’m here to tell you it’s way too early to make a judgement call on the success or failure of Diaz as a coordinator.
First and foremost, Mississippi State never or rarely left a zone coverage. The Bulldogs were going to show as little as possible before their big game this weekend against LSU. Mullens and his receivers were more capable of finding holes in Hattiesburg than they were in Starkville.
Second, having Tolando Cleveland in the game as much as he was hurt. And it hurt a lot. He doesn’t have the skills or experience Taveze Calhoun does, and it showed in a big way on Saturday night.
Third, and most importantly, the Diaz defense is known for this. If you remember the 2010 season, Diaz had a bend but don’t break philosophy. There was a focus on keeping the opposing team from making big plays, and when they were around the 20 or 30 yard line, the defense would use the lack of space for the offense to move to tighten up and stop the offense at that point. The defense would give up a lot of yards, but they rarely gave up a lot of points.
It also should be noted how the offense put the defense in a serious hole in the 1st quarter. The fumble by Ashton Shumpert was a critical error by the first year starter. And then the inexplicable handling of the punt by Fred Ross made the Bulldogs defense start off in the Red Zone. The Golden Eagles had the ball almost twice as long as the Bulldogs, and keeping the defense on the field as much as they were wore them down.
It is very possible Diaz will flop in his second go round with the Bulldogs. But jumping to any conclusions after one game in Hattiesburg is just being a Prisoner of the Moment. Don’t let it happen to you.