Report: Duke to hire Texas State's Jonathan Patke as defensive coordinator

Duke is set to name Texas State defensive coordinator Jonathan Patke as its next defensive coordinator, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported. He wrapped up his first season with the Bobcats with Tuesday night’s First Responder Bowl against Rice.

Patke has a close connection to new Duke coach Manny Diaz, working with him at multiple previous stops. The two worked together at Miami from 2016-21 before the Hurricanes parted ways with Diaz. That’s when Patke became the defensive coordinator at Incarnate Word — where he began his career as a graduate assistant — for a season before latching on at Texas State.

In addition to their time at Miami, Patke and Diaz worked together at Mississippi State. Diaz was the defensive coordinator in 2015 while Patke served as a graduate assistant with the defense.

Diaz has now filled both coordinator spots after hiring SMU quarterbacks coach Jonathan Brewer to lead the offense. His staff is coming together after he left the defensive coordinator position at Penn State to replace Mike Elko. Brewer was on the same staff as Jonathan Patke at Miami, serving as a quality control coach before following Rhett Lashlee to SMU.

In addition, Diaz and the Blue Devils scored big in the transfer portal, landing former Texas quarterback Maalik Murphy. He committed to Duke last week and came in as the No. 40 overall transfer and No. 12-ranked quarterback to hit the portal, according to the On3 Industry Transfer Rankings.

Diaz spent the last two seasons at Penn State as defensive coordinator after leaving Miami following the 2021 season. This past year, he helped the Nittany Lions rank No. 1 in the country in total defense, holding teams to 223.3 yards per game.

After Duke announced his hiring, Diaz wrote a letter to the Penn State community expressing his gratitude for the last two seasons as he prepared to don the big headset once again.

“Thank you Penn State – for everything,” Diaz wrote. “It has been a great couple of years in State College. Being part of the tradition, history and passion surrounding this incredible football program is an experience the entire Diaz family will forever cherish.

“I am a better coach for the time spent here and I could not be more appreciative to James (Franklin) for giving me this opportunity. The faith, trust and support from James, Pat Kraft, President Bendapudi and the entire leadership team at Penn State means the world to me.”