Former Miami football head coach released a statement to the fanbase after being fired, expressing how disappointed he was over the entire coaching situation that unfurled.
With the Miami football team going in a different direction, former head coach Manny Diaz expressed great disappointment on how the absolute debacle of a coaching search transpired in his final press release as the outgoing Hurricanes head coach.
“I am disappointed in the University’s decision and the manner in which this played out over the last few weeks,” said Diaz in a statement. “The uncertainty impacted our team, our staff and their families — they are real people that gave everything to this program. For that, for them, I hurt.”
Diaz was Miami’s head coach for three years. Despite having a winning record in Coral Gables, the university opted to fire athletic director Blake James and commence a coaching search while Diaz and his staff were still employed. While they were out there recruiting high school players to the program, the university decided it need to pry Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal out of Eugene.
Here is Diaz’s statement in full, expressing great gratitude for the opportunity, but perhaps even greater disappointment over how the University of Miami conducted itself for all the world to see.
Manny Diaz calls out Miami for coaching search debacle in his final statement
While Miami football fans are excited about Cristobal coming back to South Florida, nobody in their right mind can say the university conducted itself with class under any circumstances during this highly public coaching search. Diaz may not have been the right man for the job, but he and his staff deserved so much better than this. This was a complete and total embarrassment to watch.
It doesn’t matter how giddy one athletic department is about potentially bringing the prodigal son home, don’t treat the sitting coach this way, even if he is viewed as a lame duck in-house. To say there are karmic implications over the matter would be a gross understatement. Again, this could have been handled infinitely smoother. Just fire the guy and don’t leave him out to dry like this.
Winning may be a cure all, but people never forget when they are treated this poorly by someone.
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