18 wins and an ACC Championship. That is what Manny Diaz has done in his two years leading the Duke Blue Devils. While he did inherit a program in decent shape after Mike Elko left for Texas A&M, he has already achieved things at Duke nobody has done in over a quarter century. Diaz is quietly building up a great reputation as one of the best head coaches in his league. How does he stack up?
USA TODAY Sports' Austin Curtright ranked the 17 head football coaches in the ACC, accordingly.
- Miami Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal
- Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney
- Virginia Tech Hokies head coach James Franklin
- SMU Mustangs head coach Rhett Lashlee
- Louisville Cardinals head coach Jeff Brohm
- Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key
- Duke Blue Devils head coach Manny Diaz
- Wake Forest Demon Deacons head coach Jake Dickert
- Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi
- Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott
- North Carolina State Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren
- Syracuse Orange head coach Fran Brown
- Florida State Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell
- California Golden Bears head coach Tosh Lupoi
- Stanford Cardinal head coach Tavita Pritchard
- Boston College Eagles head coach Bill O'Brien
- North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick
Curtright slotted Diaz in at No. 7, expressing why he did so in his ACC rankings in the following blurb.
"Diaz has overall done a solid job at Duke, but his tenure has been a bit confusing," Curtright wrote. "He won the ACC championship last season, although the Blue Devils went 7-5 in the regular season, reaching the title game due to a long list of tiebreakers. He has been solid, which is all you can ask for at Duke, which will never be a football school. He has an 18-9 record in two seasons. The former Miami coach is certainly meeting expectations, and could be a candidate for a better job after another strong year."
To be frank, there is nothing confusing about Diaz's tenure. Yes, it does not look conventional like the resumes of other excellent coaches, but the guy gets results. In short, Diaz is doing more with less than many of his other ACC coaching contemporaries. Frankly, he should be situated in the top five of his league, but he will get his due time. For now, let's see who he could overtake, and look out for..
Let's start by popping the balloon in the false narrative that an ACC newcomer is a great head coach.
James Franklin is living off a past reputation built upon smoke and mirrors
Just because James Franklin is at a new job should not change how we should feel about the former Penn State coach. He may have been Diaz's former boss in State College, but nobody elevates a good program less than Franklin. In his decade-long run at Penn State, how many truly great wins did he have? He always beat the teams he should have, but never took down any team as an underdog.
Franklin could have success leading Virginia Tech, but that is a far more challenging job than people give it credit for. Since Frank Beamer called it a career, Blacksburg ate Justin Fuente alive before rendering Brent Pry useless ... until Franklin decided to retain him as his new defensive coordinator! Virginia Tech could bounce back to respectability under Franklin, but he does not deserve this hype.
Deep down, he may think he is overqualified to lead Virginia Tech, but his failures have led him here.
Dabo Swinney has lost his fastball, causing Clemson to lose more games
You used to be good; what happened? Dabo Swinney doubled down on his schtick during a time of great change in this world, all before the world turned and left him behind. He may be the greatest head coach in Clemson football history, but 2018 was a long time ago. Clemson's former stranglehold on the ACC is no more. He may have won two national titles, but star quarterbacks carried his teams.
All you need to know about the state of Clemson football is last year's defending ACC champions could not even get back to Charlotte. Duke earned its way there with a 7-5 (6-2) record. Clemson did make a trip to the College Football Playoff in 2024, but that was with a 9-3 record... Prior to that, the last time Clemson even got to play for a national title came during the 2020 season. Time is flying by.
Unfortunately for Clemson fans, they will just have to ride it out with their funky head football coach.
Another ACC title from Manny Diaz will put Jeff Brohm into perspective
While Franklin and Swinney deserve the arrows being slung at them, Jeff Brohm being ranked ahead of Diaz lands a little bit differently. Brohm is an excellent head coach. He did unbelievable things at Purdue prior to taking over at his alma mater of Louisville. The guy knows offense, as well as how to elevate an underperforming program. But does he know defense? That has hurt him during ACC play.
ALSO READ: 5 crucial games that will define Manny Diaz's third year leading the Duke Blue Devils
Louisville has gotten to an ACC Championship under his watch, but has not won a conference title yet. The Cardinals will regularly win nine or so games under Brohm, but his porous defense almost always lets him down. Follow along with this. If Diaz were to take Duke back to Charlotte before Brohm gets the Cardinals there again, what would that say about these two ACC head coaches in question?
Brohm is a fine head coach, but Diaz has done more with less over a shorter span than Brohm has.
Jake Dickert could be destined for greater things beyond Wake Forest
If there is one head coach ranked behind Diaz Duke fans should be concerned about, it has to be Jake Dickert. Foolishly, the Michigan State Spartans picked Jonathan Smith over him to lead their program. Dickert won at Washington State after Nick Rolovich's dumb nonsense nearly capsized the Cougars. He guided Wazzu through an embarrassing period of conference realignment in the Pac-12.
While he could have stayed in Pullman, Dickert bet on himself to replace the iconic Dave Clawson at Wake Forest. He went 9-4 during his first season in Winston-Salem. Although there is a chance both Duke and Wake Forest could be good at the same time, Diaz and the Blue Devils cannot afford their fellow Tobacco Road private school to get in the way of their shine. Keep an eye out for Wake Forest.
In the event that Duke and Diaz falter, do not be surprised if Dickert shoots off into superstardom.
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