Ranking the top 10 college football coaching hires

8. Manny Diaz, Duke

Diaz was the head coach at Miami for three seasons and ultimately underwhelmed. The Hurricanes only reached eight wins once throughout his tenure. But he is deserving of this second opportunity at Duke. He served as the defensive coordinator for Penn State over the past two seasons and turned the Nittany Lions into one of the better defenses in the Big Ten. Duke is not the biggest of jobs, but Mike Elko made the Blue Devils respectable on the football field. If Diaz can follow that up, it could change the long-term trajectory of the program.

New Duke coach Manny Diaz sits with the Cameron Crazies pic.twitter.com/vCxZReK1t0

— Blue Devil Nation (@BlueDevilNation) December 9, 2023