Texas fired defensive coordinator Manny Diaz on Sunday, less than 24 hours after one of the worst defensive performances in the history of the program. "Our performance on defense last night was unacceptable, and we need to change that," Texas head coach Mack Brown said in a statement issued by the school. Texas gave up 550 yards rushing in the 40-21 loss to BYU on Saturday night, putting a potential breakthrough season on the brink of another big disappointment if the Longhorns can't fix their defensive problems. Texas (1-1) plays No. 25 Mississippi (2-0) at home on Saturday. Diaz will be replaced by former defensive coordinator Greg Robinson, who was last with UT in 2004 and currently serves as an analyst for the Longhorn Network.
"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," continued Brown. 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."
Brown hired Diaz, 39, after Texas finished 5-7 in 2010 and defensive coordinator Will Muschamp left to be the head coach at Florida. The hire was a surprise considering Diaz had been defensive coordinator just one season at Mississippi State, but Brown called him a rising star in coaching who brought energy and new ideas to his struggling program. But his defense regressed each of the last two seasons, and Brown brought in Robinson as a consultant in the offseason.
Robinson was Michigan's defensive coordinator in 2009 and 2010, ranking 110th in the country in total defense in his final year. Robinson also spent the 2004 season as defensive coordinator under Brown at Texas, when the Longhorns went 11-1 and edged Michigan in the Rose Bowl. He left to become head coach at Syracuse from 2005 to 2008.
"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."
Diaz, who was making a whopping $700,000 a year, has been reassigned to a position within the athletic department.
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