My Favorite Cigar
Manny Diaz • Football Coach • Padrón Serie 1926 No. 40
Manny Diaz, the new head coach of the Duke University Blue Devils football team, walked into his first meeting last December and addressed his team. “Everyone is very proud of what the people in this room have accomplished over the past two years. However, do not confuse that with being satisfied with what’s been accomplished. So, my goal in front of you is very simple. We are not here to tear down what has been done and try to rebuild it, but by the same token, our goal is not to sit here and be happy and complacent with what has been done and say it’s enough. Good is the enemy of great. Wanting to win is not enough.”
Diaz, 50, has been coaching college football since 1998, mostly as a defensive coordinator. He famously created the turnover chain during his time at Miami, a massive, gaudy chain big enough to see from the stands that would be ceremoniously draped around the neck of a player who got a turnover for the Hurricanes.
Diaz loves cigars. “I started smoking cigars on game day to achieve a sense of calm,” he says. Now he smokes the night before, often joined by some of his coaches.
Occasionally, with a big win, he will fire up a cigar in the locker room. He smiles. “It’s hard to be in a bad mood smoking a cigar.”
