The FSU Seminoles are looking for a new head coach after firing Mike Norvell on Sunday, and current Duke Blue Devils head coach Manny Diaz has emerged as a candidate.
Diaz, who is from Miami, has extensive ties to Florida State and Florida. While he did not play at FSU, he graduated from the school in 1995 and began his coaching career as a graduate assistant in 1998 on Bobby Bowden's coaching staff. He was also on staff in 1999, when they won the national championship.
He had his weekly press conference on Monday and revealed that he addressed the rumors with his players.
“I addressed the team last night. Made it pretty clear, I’m really, really happy here,” Diaz told Conor O'Neil of Devils Illustrated. “Love being here, love going to work here every
day.
“Anything we focus on other than trying to beat N.C. State is a distraction.”
Diaz is in his third season as Duke's head coach, where he has gone 24-11 and 14-7 in ACC games. The Blue Devils beat FSU for the first time ever during the 2024 season and won their first ACC Championship since 1989 last year. It is not the first time he has been connected to an open job; there was heavy speculation that he would leave last offseason to take over the Penn State Nittany Lions, which he believes is a testament to what they have built at Duke.
“It’s the same thing we talked about last year with Penn State, right? Last year, my bags were packed going to Penn State,” Diaz said. “Internet rumors are going to be internet rumors. Coaches and players are the same … everybody’s going to go somewhere else.
“That’s just the cost of success, which is better than the alternative.”
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This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: Manny Diaz addresses FSU head coach opening
