Sources: Duke focusing on Diaz for HC vacancy
-
Pete Thamel, ESPN
Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz has emerged as the focus of the search for Duke‘s next football coach, sources told ESPN on Thursday.
Diaz has been the top target for an extended period, and a deal is expected to be finalized in the next 24 hours. Duke conducted finalist interviews in Las Vegas this week.
Diaz is coming off a season in which he led the nation’s top statistical defense, as the Nittany Lions held opponents to 223.2 yards per game — the best single-season defensive performance in the sport since Alabama in 2011.
He also brings head-coaching experience in the ACC, as he led Miami to three bowl-eligible seasons during his time there from 2019 to 2021.
Diaz, whose 2020 team at Miami was ranked as high as No. 7 in the country, was fired after three seasons with a 21-15 record. Miami is 12-12 since his departure.
He would take over a Duke program that got an energy jolt during Mike Elko’s two seasons as coach. Elko went 9-4 in 2022 and led the Blue Devils to the school’s highest national ranking, No. 16, this year. He left last month for the head-coaching job at Texas A&M.
Diaz would need to work quickly to retool Duke’s roster, which was laden with veterans — the team is expected to lose well over half of its starters to graduation. Star quarterback Riley Leonard is in the NCAA transfer portal and took a visit to Notre Dame this week.
Diaz brings extensive experience in the ACC. In addition to his time at Miami as head coach and defensive coordinator, he has also had stops at Florida State as a graduate assistant and at NC State in various roles for six seasons early in his career.
After his departure from Miami, Diaz made quick work of building Penn State into a defensive power. The Nittany Lions have held opponents to 24 or less points in 17 straight games — the nation’s longest active streak.
Diaz was a semifinalist for the Broyles Award, given to the nation’s top assistant, in his first season at Penn State. He’ll bring extensive recruiting connections from his various other stops — Middle Tennessee, Mississippi State, Texas, Louisiana Tech — and a high-energy approach to recruiting.
Duke plays Troy in the Birmingham Bowl on Dec. 23.
TORONTO — Cleveland Guardians star Jose Ramirez was back in the lineup for Sunday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays, two days after the third baseman left in the third inning because of a mild right ankle sprain.
The six-time All-Star was injured when he stumbled and fell while crossing first base on an infield single. Ramirez went down after being struck in the back by a throw from Blue Jays right-hander Chris Bassitt.
Ramirez was batting third Sunday against right-hander Bowden Francis.
Ramírez sat out Saturday when Cleveland beat Toronto 5-3. He went 2 for 2 before departing Friday, boosting his average to .274. He has five home runs and 15 RBIs in 31 games.
In last Thursday’s 4-3 victory over Minnesota, Ramirez became the first primary third baseman to reach 250 homers and 250 stolen bases.
The Miami Marlins activated catcher Nick Fortes from the 10-day injured list Sunday morning. To make room for him on the active roster, starting second baseman Otto Lopez was placed on the 10-day injured list.
Fortes, the Marlins’ Opening Day catcher, posted six hits in 20 at-bats with two doubles, one triple and one RBI in seven appearances before going on the IL on April 10 with an injured left oblique muscle. The 28-year-old missed 20 games as the Marlins went 7-13 without him. To prepare for Sunday’s return, he rehabbed for two games at Triple-A Jacksonville and went 0-for-6.
Fortes figures to split time with 23-year-old rookie catcher Agustin Ramirez, who has delivered a .256/.293/.615 slash line with three homers and five RBIs in 10 games during his first stint in the bigs.
The 26-year-old Lopez hits the injured list, retroactive to Saturday, with a sprained right ankle. Lopez started the season hot with a .400 average to go with two homers, six RBIs and one stolen base during five games in March. Since then, he has batted .191 (17-for-89) with no homers, five RBIs and two steals.
Rookie Javier Sanoja, 22, has filled Lopez’s spot at second base the last two games and provided two doubles, two runs and one RBI in seven at-bats.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway