Diaz to be Interviewed in Starkville....

zerosktr151

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Jan 13, 2009
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for a formal interview as early as tomorrow per Rosebowl is this germans? didnt see it among all the LK stories...
 

zerosktr151

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Jan 13, 2009
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for a formal interview as early as tomorrow per Rosebowl is this germans? didnt see it among all the LK stories...
 

Todd4State

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Mar 3, 2008
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Diaz and the Wallerstadt (sp? ) guy from Air Force look the most impressive to me so far. I would be OK with even a guy like Rick Minter. I would not be happy with Willie Martinez.

That said, I think Diaz may be the best fit. He is just like the new Ninja Bonsai Era MSU. Young. Aggressive. Energetic. Creative. I think he's a good fit for us.
 

patdog

Heisman
May 28, 2007
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while the coaches convention is still going on, then he's the guy. Which I think is very good news.
 

Griffdawg

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Aug 19, 2009
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That's good news. If we get Diaz, I'll be happy. One thing's for sure. We will be a heck of a team to watch purely from a football fans' perspective. Creative, spread offense + aggressive, attacking defense. I'll take that any day!! It should make us more attractive to the defensive recruits also.
 

Todd4State

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Griffdawg said:
That's good news. If we get Diaz, I'll be happy. One thing's for sure. We will be a heck of a team to watch purely from a football fans'
perspective. Creative, spread offense + aggressive, attacking defense. I'll take that any day!! It should make us more attractive to the defensive
recruits also.

and on top of that, you have the Ninja with his gameday experience package, cool uniforms, and the scoreboard. We may not win the SEC, but we will be the most fun program in the SEC by far.
 

El Diablo Blanco

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Nov 8, 2008
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if we hire Diaz, why wait so long? We could have hired him weeks ago. I figure if we get him, he was a fall back guy. No other reason to have waited this long on him. I been around it enough to know that this tells me he wasn't close to the first choice.

I like Diaz ok, but be warned. He is a lot closer to Joe Lee , in style, than he is to Ellis Johnson. He will drive some of you nuts with his gambles.
 

HD6

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Apr 8, 2003
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driving me nuts by sitting back on 3rd and 12 and allowing long completions time and time aGAIN. MSU defense has driven me nuts since the end of the 1999 season.
 

Griffdawg

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Aug 19, 2009
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to refrain from using a 3 down linemen set on 3rd and longs. We can't be content with letting opposing offenses dictate or force their will on us. We have to force the action and take a few risks. If Diaz can't get it done, we know that Mullen has a quick hook. Torbush found that out the hard way.
 

AzzurriDawg4

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Nov 11, 2007
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Have you seen that many MTSU games? I am not flaming you, just curious. I watched their bowl game and the State game and I didn't come away thinking Joe Lee Dunn in either of those games. I think they ran a pretty conventional 4-3, with "normal" linebackers. Sure, he might dial up some creative blitzes - but I would love to hear (specifically) what makes him such a risk?

I am all for Diaz.
 

Todd4State

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If we've learned anything from today, things can change in a hurry in the college football world. Mike Leach was safe two weeks ago, and who would've thought that Lane Kiffen would leave Tennessee?

Heck, for all we know, Nick Saban is leading a satanic homosexual cult in the Bear Bryant Museum as we speak. We could end up with a guy like Kirby Smart or Will Muschamp the way this craziness is going.

Seriously, I have no problem with Mullen interviewing several guys, and actually, I prefer it be done that way. And remember one reason why Mullen talked to Willie Martinez first- because he was FIRED and wasn't coaching in a bowl- unlike Manny Diaz. This is how it's done at most legit programs.

And as far as his style- first of all- there is no perfect scheme. If there was, everyone would be running it, and then they would change the rules. Just like Mullen- a more conservative call may have beaten LSU, but I think you look at the entire body of work, and you see success. I think Diaz's style fits more of what MSU has traditionally been successful with at MSU on defense- bringing pressure. I like the Tampa 2 and everything, but Mississippi boys like to blitz and hit the QB. Not read and react and play zone all the time. As a fan, I want to see people get jacked up. This scheme will hopefully allow that to happen quite often.
 

El Diablo Blanco

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Nov 8, 2008
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defense is all about players and getting after it. We need some players no matter who the coach is. Esp. in the secondary. I agree with you. I'd rather die quick than die slowly by a thousand cuts. But some people will ***** at the one on one coverage getting burned. We better find some cover corners.
 

HD6

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Apr 8, 2003
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he was allowed the opportunity to search for other jobs and take one to give the appearance of leaving on his own terms.
 

Todd4State

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Mar 3, 2008
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and rightfully so- at least in my mind. That doesn't mean that I didn't like Mullen or his offense or that the thought of firing him ever crossed my mind. People are going to ***** when things go wrong, no matter what we do. If we hire Diaz, I probably will ***** if we play cover-0 and we get burned, but that doesn't mean that I dislike his defense or him as a coach.

I understand that these coaches are people and are going to make mistakes OR that things are simply not going to work out from time to time. I can live with that. I can't live with Torbush rushing three and not bringing any pressure whatsoever when Auburn is gashing us time and time again with no effort to adjust at all.
 

El Diablo Blanco

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Nov 8, 2008
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but I base it on understanding football. He runs a lot of man free. So did Joe Lee. In today's spread offenses you are gonna face some 5 wides with a Josh Morgan type covering a top notch WR (see Fla. 2001). If you don't get to the QB, you are 17'd. It doesn't matter if you are in a 5 front , a 4-3, 3-4 etc. there are basically Cover 3, Cover 4, Cover 2 zone coverages, Cover 0 and Cover 2 Man, and Man free. I saw a lot of man free and Cover 0 watching them this year.

I'm not saying I disagree with it, but you better have some cover people. When Joe Lee had Bean and Smoot we were gold. Without them, not so much.

Again, I like Diaz. But he, at times, will drive some on here nuts. Just like Torbush did in his Cover 8 on 3rd down.I think Torbush did a lot of that because he didn't trust his secondary.

Like I said, I'd rather die quick than slow, so I would prefer Man Free to Cover 8.
 

Todd4State

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Mar 3, 2008
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which is an offense very much like you are talking about- spread, four, five wide- with a really good running back to boot. DeAndre Brown is also probably a NFL WR. Anyway, against them it looked like he did a lot of zone blitzing, and it worked fairly well. He went into that game outgunned, and was shutting them down after USM had I think two TD drives. That's another thing I liked about him- he adjusted in game, and it gave MTSU a chance to win which they did.

As far as Torbush, if he didn't trust his secondary, he should have helped them out by blitzing more. Instead, he exposed the weakness of our defense while at the same time he did not utilize one of our strengths- our linebackers.
 

El Diablo Blanco

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Nov 8, 2008
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Broomfield shows promise. I think Banks and Mitchell will be ok. But you have to make sure you have depth and keep bringing those types in. I think Torbush was a security blanket hire for Mullen. An old steady hand. I think Diaz or someone like him is more to Mullen's preferred style. He always talks about attacking defenses.

Although the pick 6's this year were a sign of aggressive defense.
 

El Diablo Blanco

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Nov 8, 2008
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he also had some pretty good cover guys.Again, I like Diaz, but if Mullen <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">really</span> wanted him, he could have done this hire a while back.Not saying he doesn't want him, but I don't think he was number 1 on the list. I hope we get him, just wish we had done it sooner.
 

anon1751035439

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Mar 16, 2009
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The way it turned out I wouldn't doubt if your "terrible" sources were right. But I don't recall reading anything that hinted at that. I might have missed the SPS memo.
 

Todd4State

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unless they had Charles Woodson and Deion Sanders, there is no way that they should have been able to match talent with USM's WR's.

I may wrong about this, but I don't think any of their DB's are going to the NFL. If they are, it's not like they're first round, SEC caliber guys.

I don't know if Diaz was #1 on his list or not. I sure hope that Carl Torbush wasn't his first choice as a DC, because I somehow doubt that he was sitting up in the coaching booth thinking "Hmmm...when I become a HC, I'm getting Carl Torbush to run my defense." I think his name surfaced because someone closely connected to the coaching staff probably heard them talking about Diaz's defense after we played them this year and probably surmised that he may be a candidate.

If Willie Martinez was his first choice, you're talking about a guy that got fired and had a defense that got worse every year that he was there. And he had four d-linemen that are likely going to be playing in the NFL. He was a scapegoat for a reason. And I don't know if he was Mullen's first choice or not, or simply interviewed first out of convenienece.

As long as we get a good DC, I don't really care if he was Mullen's first choice or not. It's not like there's only 1-2 good DC out there. Heck, Dan probably wasn't Byrne's first choice and that worked out- especially if you believe the Petersen rumors.
 

VirgilCain

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Aug 9, 2008
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being from miami. We will finally have a pipeline to all those miami street corners where the best WR in the world congregate!!!!!

(a reference to a croom comment for all the mongoloids)
 

AzzurriDawg4

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Nov 11, 2007
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It is just that some people come on here and say **** like, "Montrell Conner is definitely going to be our starter next year" despite never seeing Conner carry the ball one time in practice. I just like to know there is some substance behind some of the claims made.

I was just wondering if you had seen an interview or something where he outlined or summed up his defensive philosophy. I have only watched two MTSU games, and I barely watched the USM one and was fairly hungover for the State game, so I can't say that I was very perceptive.

All I know about Diaz is that he is young, well thought of in coaching circles, has DC experience is on the more aggressive side of the spectrum. How aggressive I really didn't know. I also know that our offensive staff was pretty impressed with his D before and after the MTSU game.
 

ckDOG

All-American
Dec 11, 2007
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El Diablo Blanco said:
He runs a lot of man free. So did Joe Lee. In today's spread offenses you are gonna face some 5 wides with a Josh Morgan type covering a top notch WR (see Fla. 2001). If you don't get to the QB, you are 17'd. It doesn't matter if you are in a 5 front , a 4-3, 3-4 etc. there are basically Cover 3, Cover 4, Cover 2 zone coverages, Cover 0 and Cover 2 Man, and Man free. I saw a lot of man free and Cover 0 watching them this year.
The silver lining is we have a HC who understands the workings of spread offenses. I'm sure along with that, he knows the weak points of the offense and where you can be exploited. I know Mullen's expertise isn't defense since he hasn't coached it hands-on (to my knowledge), but I'm going to give the man the benefit of the doubt and say that he probably knows a thing or two about defensive philosophy. If the DC's game plan involves something he knows can be easily exploited by the opposing offense, I think Mullen will be well prepared to "urge" adjustments, whether it's in response to what the offense is doing or by our own personnel limitations.

Judging by Mullen's reaction to MTSU's defense before and after our game this year, it's pretty clear he's on board with Diaz's approach. You're right, I think we'll have a more high-risk/high-return exciting defenses in the future with a lot of man free coverages. With that, we'll give up some big plays. But, we'll also make some big plays as well. This is probably explains why we are recruiting so many ATH recruits. Out of all these speedy guys we are bringing into campus, we might be able to find a lock down corner or two to help with this approach.

I'm on board with an aggressive style defense. I think it gives us the best chance to win game we aren't supposed to. We aren't at the point where we are going to be able to "out-athlete" opponents. We are going to have to confuse them, on offense and defense. This style gives us the best chance to cause headaches on D.

All in all, yet another benefit of having a younger coach who is knowledgeable of the current landscape of college football vs stubbornly implementing outdated approaches better fit for the 80's-era SF 49ers.
 

RaiderDawg24

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May 28, 2007
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can see what you are saying.

Most of the time, his defensive schemes remind me of what LSU was doing back in 2003, albeit with less talent.

However, I have had a few flashbacks to Joe Lee over the years. I will never forgive him for the 2006 loss to Troy that cost MTSU the Sun Belt championship. He went into prevent and managed to give up 14 points in the final 2:19 to lose 21-20. The play that has always stuck out to me, was a 4th and 17 for Troy when Diaz sent 2 DL and dropped 9 into coverage. With no pressure, Troy's QB had all day and hit a 19 yard pass to set Troy up for the go ahead score at the MT 3.

Watching MT during Diaz' tenure, it always seems like the D gives up one drive a game where they can't stop whoever they are playing, but they typically adjust. I can only think of 2 games that MT lost since Manny has been there when they lost to team they should have beaten. When his defense gets smoked, its because he has a lot less talent.

I think he does a very nice job with what he has to work with and save a few play calls, he is solid, makes good in game adjustments, and is very aggressive. Plus, he does a heck of a job recruiting Florida.

MSU could do and have done a lot worse.