Former Indy C.C. assistant Frank Diaz credits Last Chance U for opening doors

Former Independence C.C. assistant Frank Diaz credits Last Chance U for opening doors in his coaching career and he’s excited for Season 4.

As he walked away from Independence Community College following a 9-2 season which was more of a rollercoaster than you’d be led to believe by the record, Frank Diaz was searching for “the right fit” at a new school.

Diaz helped lead Indy C.C. to a conference title under controversial head coach Jason Brown as the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, mentoring a talented, yet stubborn, player like Malik Henry. The season was filled with its ups and downs, but Diaz remained even-keeled and didn’t let Brown or the unfortunate living situation (basically a dorm room with no windows) get to him.

That positivity led to a job offer to be the offensive coordinator at Santa Monica (Calif.) High, a job which he accepted, before FAU reached out last August and asked him to come on board.

Now an offensive assistant for a Division 1 FBS program under a head coach in Lane Kiffin who has experience in the Pac-12, SEC and even the NFL, Diaz is happy with the doors that were opened by the famed Netflix docu-series, Last Chance U.

“The show has given me a lot of exposure,” Diaz said. “It’s been pretty cool. People recognize me and ask for a picture or ask for an autograph.”

A year ago, Diaz wasn’t as pleased with his portrayal on the show, stating that he was made out to be more of a pushover when it came to Henry than he truly felt he was.

That relationship with Henry was actually stronger than people realize and the two are still in communication today, even with the talented dual-threat now at Nevada as a walk-on.

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“We talk every once in a while,” Diaz said of Henry. “Last I heard he was doing a great job fighting for that No. 1 spot. I know he’s got a better head on his shoulders than at this time last summer.”

After having an entire year to think and reflect on his Last Chance U appearance, he feels differently about his portrayal.

“At the end of the day, TV does sell,” Diaz said. “The TV show got me exposure. I put in my time with six years coaching junior college football and at the end of the day, it got me exposure. I was a bit worried (last year) that maybe I don’t look that way (in real life). I think I’m alright.”

Brown’s former offensive coordinator is excited for the new season of Last Chance U, which debuts on July 19, and can now watch without stress.

“I’m going to enjoy this more as a fan,” Diaz said. “At the same time when I’m watching and I see former players, I’ll be rooting for them and wanting them to succeed.”

While there may be other storylines outside of Brown, the controversial head coach will be the center of attention for a number of reasons.

Following the 2018 season, Brown and Independence C.C. parted ways after he sent a controversial text to a German player, stating that he was his new Hitler.

Does that type of behavior surprise Diaz? Not really, but he says that there’s no bad blood between him and his former employer and despite all the controversy that follows him, Brown did positive things for Independence.

“Jason Brown is looked at as a controversial coach. Despite that, I do recognize some of the great things he did at Independence. He did start the program up. He got some guys out to four-year schools,” Diaz said. “At the end of the day, it’s about getting the kids out and pushing them to their goals and Brown did just that. Unfortunately, things happen.”

Brown and Independence C.C. had a poor 2018 season — if you want spoilers, just Google the record — and that’s something Diaz was surprised about given the talent the program had, on paper, but believed that a number of factors contributed to the outcome.

“The following season after a successful season is one of the hardest,” Diaz said. “You have a lot of factors going in. This is a very unique case. You went 9-2, you won the conference championship and you were on worldwide TV. And because of that, you were able to see what Independence Community College’s thoughts and feelings were toward their opponents.

In my time at Independence, we obviously had a target on our backs. Teams wanted to beat us on Netflix. Actually now, that target grew even bigger.”

Diaz went on to name the factors that could have led to the poor season: staff turnover, coach’s chemistry, the fact that JUCO is a revolving door for players and people, especially players, becoming complacent. Sometimes teams fail to realize that last year is last year.

While he’s excited about watching Season 4 of Last Chance U and seeing what exactly went wrong for Independence C.C., he’s got a new team of his own to worry about.

Following a disappointing 2018 season, FAU is looking to get back near the top of Conference USA standings like it was in Kiffin’s first year.

Grateful for the opportunity at FAU and relationships built with new coaches and even some former Last Chance U stars (Deandre Johnson in 2018 and Tim Bonner in 2018-19) to joke around about the show and their experience with, Diaz is just focused on getting the Owls back on track.

“I’m hoping we just duck our heads and raise them on Dec. 1 and see where we’re at,” Diaz said. “I’m stoked for the 2019 season.”