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Penn State Names Manny Diaz Defensive Coordinator

Penn State football officially has a new top defensive coach in town.

Former University of Miami head coach Manny Diaz has officially been named the Nittany Lions defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, the team announced Saturday morning.

“We are thrilled to add Manny Diaz as our defensive coordinator,” James Franklin said. “Manny is a veteran defensive play-caller whose head coaching experience will bring tremendous value to our organization. He has an innovative approach to complement his extensive Xs & Os knowledge which he developed through his stops at multiple Power Five conferences.”

The Florida native has 24 years of collegiate coaching experience, 13 of which have come as a defensive coordinator. He’s had stints at schools like Mississippi State, Texas, and Miami — where he most recently held the top job.

This will be Diaz’s first stop in the Big Ten. He helped lead Miami to three consecutive bowl game appearances as head coach, but he was recently fired and replaced by former Oregon coach Mario Cristobal.

The 47-year-old now inherits a Penn State defense that allowed just 16.8 points per game this year, a mark that’s good for third-best in the Big Ten. He’ll be Franklin’s third defensive coordinator during his time in Happy Valley.

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About the Author

Ryan Parsons

Ryan is a redshirt senior majoring in business and journalism from "Philadelphia" and mostly writes about football nowadays. You can follow him on Twitter @rjparsons9 or say hi via email at [email protected].

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