Manny Diaz fired as Longhorns Defensive Coordinator

https://www.hornsports.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/diaz_defensive.jpg Photo: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

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There was plenty of blame to pass around after Saturday’s 40-21 loss to BYU andÂ deservedly, defensive coordiantor Manny Diaz received most of it.Â Today that blame materializedÂ with the firing of Diaz, as reported by Orangebloods.com.

http://t.co/TuILYGfSJV has learned Mack Brown fired Manny Diaz as defensive coordinator, one day after Texas gave up 550 yds rushing to BYU.

â€” Chip Brown (@ChipBrownOB) September 8, 2013

Head Coach Mack Brown announced in the post-game press conference last night that he would need to review tape before making any decisions about Diaz’s future, and undoubtedly Brown had issues with what he saw after watching it.Â The defense was gouged for 550 rushing yards, which setÂ a school-record, including BYU QB Taysom Hill’s 259 yards on the ground.Â Missed tackles and poor defensive schemes against the zone-read made for a long night in Provo.

Diaz will be replaced by former Texas defensive coordinator Greg Robinson (2004) who was hiredÂ justÂ in JulyÂ as a football analyst.Â There was specualtion as to whether or not Robinson was brought in to hawkeye Diaz’s work,Â after the poor defensive performance in the 2012 season.

Mack Brown then issued a statement on Sunday about the Manny Diaz situation:

“Our performance on defense last night was unacceptable, and we need to change that,” Brown said. “Greg will be here tonight and get with the staff and players to start preparing for Ole Miss. He will be running our defense immediately. We’re very fortunate that Greg has been around, watched all of our practice video and has a good scouting report moving forward. His familiarity with the staff and players should make for a smooth transition. He knows this place, did a terrific job in leading our defense before, and I’m excited to have him back on the field. We’re back at it and working hard to beat Ole Miss this weekend.”

And Robinson’s statement on assuming the defensive coordinator position:

“This is a tough deal for everyone involved, but I love The University of Texas, and Coach Brown has been wonderful to me,” Robinson said. “I’ll do anything I can to help him, so when he called, I told him I’d be there today. I know the staff, have a lot of respect for them and am excited for the challenge moving forward.

“I’ve been around the team a lot, watched all of their film and have been self scouting and scouting opponents since I came on board in July. Because of Longhorn Network, I’ve also been able to see these guys for two to three years and am very familiar with the personnel.”

Greg Robinson begins his 2nd tenure as defensive coordinator with the Longhorns with a tough job.Â His last formal coaching stint was as the defensive coordinator Michigan in the 2009 – 2010 seasons under Rich Rodriguez.Â Robinson was let go in 2010 after producing a defense that was one of the worst in college football that season (110th in the nation).

As co-defensive coordinator in 2004 Robinson helped lead Texas to an 11-1 season which was capped off by a win over 12th ranked Michigan in the Rose Bowl.Â Â In 2011 Athlon Sports named Greg Robinsonâ€™s tenure at Syracuse the 5th worst in college football since 1960.