Manny Diaz shockingly left off 2025 award watch list of elite coaches

The preseason watch list for the 2025 Dodd Trophy has been released, and Duke football head coach Manny Diaz has been left out of the mix. After an extremely successful first season in Durham for Diaz, it's surprising, to say the least, that he didn't get the nod as a potential candidate.

The Dodd Trophy is "awarded each year to the FBS football coach that best embodies the three pillars of success: scholarship, leadership and integrity."

Four other coaches out of the ACC were included on the list: Clemson's Dabo Swinney, Louisville's Jeff Brohm, Miami's Mario Cristobal, and Georgia Tech's Brent Key.

This is just more fuel to the fire for the Blue Devils' program heading into the 2025 campaign, as after bolstering a roster and returning several key pieces from a team that went 9-4 last season and earned a trip to the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, there still seems to be serious disrespect around the program. FanDuel sports books still only give the Blue Devils the sixth-best odds to win the ACC Championship game at +3000, behind programs like Louisville and SMU.

Diaz delivered just the fourth season of nine or more wins in the history of Duke football, and only one other Blue Devil head coach has accomplished that feat in his first year with the program, as Mike Elko did so in 2022.

Elko, now at the helm at Texas A&M, is also on the Dodd Trophy watch list over Diaz.

Looking to build on his highly successful first year in Durham, Diaz brought in a major upgrade at the quarterback position, landing Darian Mensah out of the transfer portal from Tulane, who will be entering his redshirt sophomore campaign. The program is also bringing in talented receivers in the portal after losing its top two wideouts from a season ago, Eli Pancol and Jordan Moore.

Andrel Anthony from Oklahoma and Cooper Barkate from Harvard will both be primed for big seasons in their first year with Duke. Rising sophomore Que'Sean Brown will also look to build on a productive freshman season.

On the defensive side of the ball, Duke is bringing back several key returners from one of the best defensive units in the ACC, mainly rising senior cornerback Chandler Rivers, who is viewed as one of the top returning secondary players in college football. Add in returners like safety Terry Moore and linebacker Tre Freeman, and the Blue Devils have the potential to be the best defensive squad in the conference.

Despite continued disrespect to Duke football through the offseason, Diaz looks to take his program to new heights in 2025.