On Saturday, Nebraska announced the hiring of its new defensive coordinator, Bob Diaco. He comes in replacing Mark Banker, who Cornhuskers head coach Mike Riley fired just a couple of days ago.
Former UConn coach Bob Diaco just became the highest-paid Nebraska assistant ever
He’ll make $825,000 in his first year.
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Diaco is a name you probably are familiar with — he was the head coach at UConn from 2014 until late last month, when the school announced that he was relieved of his duties. The Diaco hiring in Lincoln looks like a good one.
Diaco was hired at UConn after making a name for himself on the defensive side of the ball. His first defensive coordinator gig was at Cincinnati in 2009, then he moved onto Notre Dame, where he put together some impressive defensive units. Take a look at some of his defenses’ numbers, according to S&P+.
Diaco defenses per Def. S&P+ |
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Riley thinks so highly of Diaco that he’s going to make $825,000 in his first year, and $875,000 the second year, which makes him the highest-paid coordinator in Nebraska football history. Here’s Corn Nation on the biggest changes Diaco will implement with the Blackshirts defense.
The biggest change that Nebraska will go through with the Diaco hiring is the switch from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4 defense. That should help compliment both the number of linebackers that Nebraska has in the stable, as well as some of the depth issues that Nebraska has on the defensive line. Who would be a nose tackle in Diaco’s system would remain to be seen, but early guesses are DaiShon Neal and Mick Stoltenberg, simply on size.
“When we began looking for a new defensive coordinator, Bob Diaco quickly rose to the top of the list,” Riley said via Corn Nation. “He has coordinated a top-level defense, has proven himself as a great teacher and recruiter, and we are excited to have him join our football program. Bob is an energetic coach and is ready to get started immediately, beginning with hitting the recruiting trail to find future Blackshirts.”
We now just have to see if Diaco can live up to his salary’s expectations, but he’s certainly proven his worth as a defensive coordinator before.
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