Duke Blue Devils football coach Manny Diaz won’t need to coach at Wallace Wade Stadium for another three months, but he played a small role in the National Hockey League playoffs on Tuesday night.
Diaz served as one of the Carolina Hurricanes‘ three siren sounders for the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals, letting the Duke coach participate in the franchise’s pregame tradition of sounding a siren before the team takes the ice.
Diaz won nine games in his first season as a coach in the state of North Carolina. The Blue Devils beat the North Carolina Tar Heels, NC State Wolfpack, and Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the same season for the first time since 2013 en route to a TaxSlayer Gator Bowl appearance.
Diaz and his staff lost wide receivers Jordan Moore and Eli Pancol to the NFL draft while starting quarterback Maalik Murphy and running back Star Thomas both hit the transfer portal, but he resupplied his offense with Tulane quarterback Darian Mensah, Harvard receiver Cooper Barkate, and Oklahoma Sooners wideout Andrel Anthony. In addition, Third Team All-American cornerback Chandler Rivers confirmed he would return for his senior season despite NFL draft speculation.
The Hurricanes, unfortunately, could not parlay Diaz’s momentum into an opening victory. The Florida Panthers struck first with a 5-2 win to take an early lead in the best-of-seven series.
Diaz’s second season with the Blue Devils will begin with a home game against Elon on August 28.