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Manny Diaz Leaves Starkville to Join Mark Richt

By Justin Strawn

Dec 30, 2015; Charlotte, NC, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs defensive coordinator Manny Diaz huddles up with the defense during a timeout in the fourth quarter against the North Carolina State Wolfpack in the 2015 Belk Bowl at Bank of America Stadium. The Bulldogs defeated the Wolfpack 51-28. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 30, 2015; Charlotte, NC, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs defensive coordinator Manny Diaz huddles up with the defense during a timeout in the fourth quarter against the North Carolina State Wolfpack in the 2015 Belk Bowl at Bank of America Stadium. The Bulldogs defeated the Wolfpack 51-28. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 30, 2015; Charlotte, NC, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs defensive coordinator Manny Diaz huddles up with the defense during a timeout in the fourth quarter against the North Carolina State Wolfpack in the 2015 Belk Bowl at Bank of America Stadium. The Bulldogs defeated the Wolfpack 51-28. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 30, 2015; Charlotte, NC, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs defensive coordinator Manny Diaz huddles up with the defense during a timeout in the fourth quarter against the North Carolina State Wolfpack in the 2015 Belk Bowl at Bank of America Stadium. The Bulldogs defeated the Wolfpack 51-28. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports /

For the second consecutive year, Dan Mullen will have to find a new defensive coordinator.

Related Story: De'Runnya Wilson is Headed to the NFL

At the end of the 2014 season, Mississippi State Coach Dan Mullen had to find a replacement for departing Defensive Coordinator Geoff Collins. He now has to find a replacement for Manny Diaz at the end of the 2015 season.

This news will come with very mixed reactions by Mississippi State fans. There was a large number of Mississippi State fans who were underwhelmed by the hire when Dan Mullen announced he had brought Diaz back on staff. Others remembered the positive impact he made on the defense in 2010.

The defense for the Bulldogs was inconsistent. The team gave up a large number of yards, but it didn’t give up a ton of points in the first nine games. In the first two losses of the season, the defense only allowed 51 points total.

The last three games of the regular season were a disaster for the defense. The opposing teams scored over 30 points in every game and the Bulldogs lost two of three and saw any chanced of winning the SEC West burst into flames.

When Manny Diaz took the job last year for Mississippi State as its Defensive Coordinator, he siad it would be the last defensive coordinator job he ever took. It appears he misspoke, though some might excuse such a statement since Miami is Diaz’s hometown. But what he said when he was hired didn’t appear he would ever actually leave for any position. This is what Diaz told 247 Sports when he was hired.

"I told Dan this is the last defensive coordinator job I ever want to take. It’s the last defensive coordinator job I ever intend to take. You have goals in terms of what you want to do. You have goals in terms of where you want to be, and this is it. This is where I want to coach defense. This is why, and again working out the contract stuff with Scott (Stricklin), we want to make sure that we made a pretty big statement that I want to be the defensive coordinator at Mississippi State. That’s why we all wanted this. That was an issue with all of us to make sure that is what we wanted, and nobody flinched."

More bulldogs: What Losing De'Runnya Wilson Means for Mississippi State

Dan Mullen will likely begin his search for a replacement immediately with most teams having already played their bowl games. We’ll keep you posted as we hear more.

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