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Manny Diaz Said Right Things About FSU Job, but Is He Being Honest?
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- Manny Diaz Said Right Things About FSU Job, but Is He Being Honest?
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
With it being announced that Florida State has officially moved on from head coach Mike Norvell, it raised the thought of Duke head coach Manny Diaz potentially landing with the Seminoles.
All Diaz has done throughout his time at Duke has proven that he possibly can land a job at a bigger program, which should worry many in Durham. The harsh reality is that Duke football isn't exactly an elite program by any means, and there's always a scenario in which he could leave it for a bigger job.
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It's also tough to argue against his history with Florida State, as an alum who began his coaching career as a graduate assistant under Bobby Bowden back in the day.
Diaz recently spoke about what he said to his team after there were some reports indicating that he could be interested in the Florida State job.
He indicated that he has no reason to leave at the moment and that he's happy with Duke. While that's all good and well, I also think there are some other factors that have to be considered here.
"I addressed the team last night, I made it pretty clear, really, really happy here," Diaz said , per USA Today. "Love being here, love going to work here every day. Anything we focus on other than finding a way to beat NC State is a distraction. Internet rumors are going to be Internet rumors.
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"I told coaches and players we're the same, right? Everybody thinks our players are going to go somewhere else, right? So that's just the cost of success, which I'd rather have than the alternative."
I understand that Diaz is going to say everything that sounds right, but it's also important to recognize that Duke is in a position where it could face some pressure here.
Even if Diaz uses the Blue Devils as leverage to get a bigger contract, more NIL money for his team, and other things, there are going to be some financial implications from all of this. I also think it's fair to mention that there's a very good chance he could be interested in that Florida State job and is just saying this to keep the peace at the moment with his team.
I'm very curious to see how a lot of this plays out over the next couple of months because Florida State is likely going to wait until the end of the season for a coach to take over.
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However, it's also possible the Seminoles have something going on behind closed doors to figure out who they want to bring in.
I'd be shocked if Diaz is at least not given a call, as there's no debate that Florida State is an elite program from top to bottom and just has an easier football life than a program like Duke. Recruiting in Florida in general would make his job a lot easier than it currently is, and that's without factoring in the pedigree of the program.
