Manny Diaz Fired, Deficient Deck Chair Thrown Over Titanic's Railing

Mack has presented his whipping boy for lashes and exile, according to reports from Orangebloods.com.

Manny Diaz will no longer serve as defensive coordinator at Texas.

If the reports are true, this is heartening news for many Longhorn fans in the wake of last night's historic debacle, but the deep cultural rot in the program comes from a place much higher than Manny Diaz.  It's also Mack's 4th fall guy coordinator in as many years - though admittedly Muschamp and Harsin were merely driven out and character assassinated for trying to implement cultural change.

Greg Davis and Manny Diaz were guillotined in the square.  Rightfully.  But the heads that need to roll are attached to bodies much higher on the org chart.

Diaz's most likely replacements to coach out the rest of the season are longtime DB coach Duane Akina - who put together a uninspiring 2007 campaign in his single season as Texas DC before being justifiably demoted - and former Longhorn DC turned special-whatever-he-does Greg Robinson, who, though a fairly energetic 61 and a competent practitioner a decade ago, hasn't seen anything like the current Big 12 and may not even be that familiar with our current personnel - much less those of our opponents.

For that reason, I think the odds favor Akina, perhaps in some sort of job share.  With...someone.  But Bo Davis and Oscar Giles don't have coordinator chops. It's Greg Robinson.

Diaz's replacement(s) will have to operate within the constructs of the current defense - both with respect to scheme, poor fundamentals, and our complete innocence to aggression, physical play, or pride.  Those things can't be dealt with in a bye week or two.  Though I don't doubt we can be coached up a bit.

We just threw a deficient deck chair over the rails of a sinking Titanic.

Enjoy your brief recline.