The Miami Hurricanes are still waiting on an official signing of an offensive coordinator. My biggest assumption for the hiring being put on hold is that openings may be seen at places like Baylor potentially for the head coaching role and now USC for the vacant offensive coordinator role. Applewhite could be a candidate for either position with Kliff Kingsbury off to the Arizona Cardinals and Matt Rhule interviewing for the New York Jets. Don’t worry, Diaz will have an O.C. in place by Thursday.... oh wait. Old School Newspaper Stuff Susan Miller Degnan of the Miami Herald put out a piece “Miami coach Manny Diaz on QB situation (and transfers): ‘No one is guaranteed anything’” that discusses the mess in the quarterback room and possible recruit John Rhys Plumlee. Also from Degnan and the Herald is a piece titled, “Hurricanes coach Manny Diaz on WQAM regarding O-Coordinator: ‘Sources say, not yet’.” Degnan quotes Diaz who takes a shot at online “sources” and challenges everyone’s IQ points by saying that it’s not fantasy football. In the Sun Sentinel, Christy Cabrera Chirinos wrote a piece called, “UM’s Manny Diaz on Hurricanes’ offensive coordinator hire: ‘It’s coming, I promise.’” In the piece she also quotes Diaz and his “sources” commentary as well as his passive-aggressive challenging of fans’ IQ’s. The Herald’s Barry Jackson put up the piece “UM coach Diaz’s biggest recruiting challenge at Miami and the Kevin Durant effect on it” about the “State of Florida” recruiting woes in 2019 for Miami. SOTU Round-Up Marsh Thomas posted his Miami Hurricanes 2018 season review: DE Position Recap Dylan Sherry posted his Miami Hurricanes 2018 season review: TE Position Recap And I put the breaks on a Major Applewhite piece now that Manny has cooled that news. Television On TV, the Dan Le Batard Show brought out their character Pipo to interview Manny Diaz which turned into the mess you would expect from the character. Pipo has also called into Paul Finebaum in the past, but it wasn’t quite as over the top as his time with Diaz. Social Media Rise and shine, it's a @CanesHoops GAMEDAY! Miami at Florida State goes down tonight at 9 p.m. pic.twitter.com/OPLHgWnxUh — Miami Hurricanes (@MiamiHurricanes) January 9, 2019<doc-sep>As Miami’s football staff gets formed and the basketball teams head to ACC play, a lot of change is going on in Coral Gables. As always, we’ve got your daily roundup of all things Miami-related for you. Around The Site Yours truly breaks down whether Miami Men’s Basketball’s season is doomed without Dewan Hernandez. What carved Manny Diaz into the head coach we have today? As everyone looks forward we take a quick look back. #Canes #TheU https://t.co/G6W6L9NIcU — StateOfTheU.com (@TheStateOfTheU) January 4, 2019 A brief retrospective of CMD’s career leading up to this point. Breaking down Brian Wright as potential Miami Hurricanes offensive coordinator. Wright as South Florida experience from his time at FAU and the Rockets have scored in droves since his arrival. https://t.co/fLXy1pfYFT pic.twitter.com/QtAR4iXGuY — StateOfTheU.com (@TheStateOfTheU) January 4, 2019 Looking at Toledo’s Brian Wright, a potential candidate for offensive coordinator that might bring the Canes’ offense into this century. Breaking down Major Applewhite as potential Miami offensive coordinator. It’s been reported he’s the OC for Manny Diaz in year one. Applewhite runs a modern scheme and hopefully learned a bit from Kendal Briles this past season. https://t.co/iWHaEREQG3 pic.twitter.com/RhXmIt7mcM — StateOfTheU.com (@TheStateOfTheU) January 4, 2019 More OC breakdowns, this time Houston’s former head coach, Major Applewhite. Around The Web The @seniorbowl is excited to have three Canes in our 70th annual games. Sheldrick Redwine (@_23NeverLeft), Jaquan Johnson (@AuthenticMade_Q), and Gerald Willis (@gw3_9) will all be representing The U in Mobile this year! pic.twitter.com/Mgtm6NTALP — Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) January 4, 2019 Three Hurricanes will take their talents to Mobile, Alabama for the 2019 Senior Bowl. With Sheldrick Redwine, Jaquan Johnson and Gerald Willis in attendance I have just one question; where’s Michael Jackson? Chris Lykes went OFF against NC State Thursday night. Clemson co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott among others that UM has been considering, per an associate. (And there are others too under consideration). He's not the primary play-caller at Clemson. — Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) January 5, 2019 Another candidate for the OC job? Clemson Co-OC Jeff Scott who’s recruited 5-star WRs like Deon Cain and Tee Higgins. Over at the Miami Herald, they spoke to ESPN’s Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit for their analysis on the state of Miami football with a new head coach. The Herald also broke down Manny Diaz’s interview with WQAM and some friendly jostling in the questions he was asked. The Sun Sentinel thinks that creating accountability and fixing the offense will be the biggest hurdles for Manny Diaz right now. Never afraid to let his voice be heard, Luther Campbell authored a piece for the Miami New Times about why Manny Diaz still has much to prove. That’s all for today Canes’ Fam, remember... IT’S ALL ABOUT THE U!<doc-sep>CORAL GABLES, FL - JANUARY 02: Manny Diaz of the Miami Hurricanes addresses the media during his introductory press conference in the Mann Auditorium at the Schwartz Center on January 2, 2019 in Coral Gables, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) Miami football could need to hire Major Applewhite to get Jalen Hurts as transfer by Alan Rubenstein In an appearance on the Joe Rose show on Wednesday morning Miami Head Coach Manny Diaz said the goal in recruiting for the Miami Football team is to sign players who can win the ACC Championship and defeat Clemson. After winning the ACC Coastal Division and making their first appearance in the ACC Championship game in 2017, the Miami football team took a huge step back in 2018. Diaz did an incredible job building the nation’s fifth-ranked defense. He now needs to translate that to the offense. The Hurricanes have to rebuild their defensive line and secondary but got a huge lift when all three of their three-year starters at linebacker decided to return for their Senior seasons in 2019. Shaq Quarterman has the most tackles on the Hurricanes during his three-year tenure in Coral Gables. Michael Pinckney finished third in tackles in each of the last two seasons. Zach McCloud has been a stellar player who has lived in Pinckney and Quarterman’s shadows. The success early in their careers with the Miami football team shows recruits if you are ready to compete you will get a chance to play immediately. Diaz spoke about where the team is in recruiting and if defensive tackles will be a priority in the three weeks before national signing day. Miami lost Senior Gerald Willis who was a second-team All-American and Tito Odenigbo and who played well as a Graduate Transfer at defensive tackle this season. “We do have a limited number of scholarships left to give and we have to make sure we’re giving them to the right guys. We do not have to reach on a player. We do not just have to panic buy, like we’re running to the store and grabbing the first thing on the shelf. We’ve met on recruiting this week with the staff we have here on campus and again, if these guys are not good enough to win the [ACC Championship] game — we’ve got to win in Charlotte against the [Clemson] team that everybody watched play Monday night — we don’t have to take them. The remaining scholarships that we fill will be guys that we think can help hold down that end of the bargain. Miami has Junior Pat Bethel, Sophomore Jon Ford and Freshman Nesta Jade Silvera at defensive tackle returning for next season. They also signed four-star defensive tackle Jason Blissett and three-star Jalal Holley as part of their Surge ’19 recruiting class. The three returnees are likely to be the rotation up front. Blissett and Holley will get a chance to play if they prove they are ready. Linemen usually take longer to mature than skill position players. Sophomore defensive end Jonathan Garvin who had a breakout 2018 season is a perfect example. He improved significantly over his Freshman year and was a critical part of Miami’s defense in 2018. Garvin had 60 tackles, 17.0 tackles for loss, 5.5, sacks, five pass breakups, two fumble recoveries and one touchdown. Diaz discussed the plan to continue to thrive on the defensive line with Rose and his radio partner Zach Krantz. “You’re going to look at it two ways — there are certainly some positions where we feel like we have to get a guy or two, potentially, at that spot. But very similar almost to an NFL draft, you have to make sure you’re not bypassing the best player available. We have to get the team where it’s able to function at a very high level. So, again, is there a place where our numbers are deficient and we absolutely have to add? But again, we’re not going to add someone we that we don’t think can help us win. There are certain positions where we still understand, yes, we absolutely have to sign a guy at that spot that can come in and help the football team next year.” As it stands now Miami is short mostly on offense in the Surge ’19 Class. The Hurricanes signed one wide receiver and no running backs or quarterbacks during the three day early signing period last month. Diaz said they don’t have to reach or panic during the February signing period, they need to add depth though. The unusual loss of all four tight ends for the final game and half of the regular season meant the Miami football team had to alter how they ran their offense against Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh. That would be a near disaster if that happened at quarterback. The Hurricanes only have three scholarship QBs heading into 2019. It almost seems more likely to lose more signal callers than tight ends. The Hurricanes are likely to look for a graduate transfer quarterback to add to the 2019 roster.<doc-sep>
CORAL GABLES, FL - JANUARY 02: Manny Diaz of the Miami Hurricanes addresses the media during his introductory press conference in the Mann Auditorium at the Schwartz Center on January 2, 2019 in Coral Gables, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) Appearing on the Joe Rose show on WQAM on Wednesday morning Miami Football Coach Manny Diaz says he expects the Offensive Staff to be finalized by this weekend. Diaz implied that it could be as simple as finalizing the contracts and that they are close. He said today (Wednesday) will not be the day. Diaz had fun with Rose and his partner Zach Krantz about the seemingly infinite rumors surrounding who the new Offensive Coordinator will be on the Miami football staff. Former North Carolina Head Coach Larry Fedora and former Houston Head Coach Major Applewhite have the two most prominent names mentioned. Toledo Offensive Coordinator Brian Wright and Louisville Quarterbacks Coach Frank Ponce have also been rumored to be on Diaz’s shortlist to replace Thomas Brown. Brown and the entire Offensive staff were fired by Diaz on New Year’s Eve, a day after Diaz was hired to replace Mark Richt who announced his retirement the day before. Diaz had kept the entire Defensive Staff and did a bit of reshuffling. Jonathan Patke who is the Outside Linebackers Coach was also made the Special Teams Coordinator. Christy Chirinos of the Sun Sentinel did an exceptional job of transcribing Diaz’s interview with Rose and Krantz. He will likely have a weekly appearance with them during the season. Diaz has already been on a few times since being hired. He began the interview discussing the rumors about the new Offensive Coordinator. “I thought sources said we’ve hired about six different guys…That’s the problem. I have to try and fit them all on one staff. This is a process that you’ve got to see through. You’re really not just hiring one guy. You’re hiring a group of guys. You don’t just put guys together, put them in a room and expect stuff to happen. You want to make sure there’s great alignment along the staff, so there’s multiple things that are always occurring at one time and then you’ve got to be respectful of people’s timetables at the time when it can happen. The first third down of the Florida (Gators) game (Aug. 31), no one will remember whether the hire happened on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or a Friday. It will just matter if it was the right guy, and I’ve really been guided by that principle all along. I still really feel good about where it’s going. … It’s coming, I promise. It’s coming.” Diaz then elaborated where they are in the process and what has to happen before the new Offensive Coordinator is hired and then announced. He explicitly expressed it will not happen today. “Today (Wednesday) is not the day. There’s still a couple things. … I’s getting dotted and T’s getting crossed and so on and so forth. … I think [we are close]. Our goal of getting things sort of situated as we get into the weekend and head off for the final three-week stretch of recruiting is still the plan. It’s still intact.” Getting the Offensive staff right going forward is critical for the Miami football staff. Richt’s refusal to make changes on the staff was what essentially led to his decision to retire. Richt lost the power struggle with Athletic Director Blake James and the Board of Trustees. His stubbornness and loyalty did him in. Diaz is faced with cleaning up the mess that is the Miami offense. Solidifying the quarterback play and getting an Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach who arewilling to be more innovative than Richt’s antiquated Pro Style offense could be the most critical thing that Diaz does in his tenure. Diaz made it clear less than 24 hours after being hired that he is not after to make tough decisions. He will do what’s best for the team and the program, not the individuals who work for him. If a coach or a player is not working out they won’t be in Coral Gables.