The fourth season of the acclaimed Netflix franchise ‘Last Chance U’ debuted last week, returning to Independence Community College in Kansas. As always, there were plenty of fireworks to be seen.

Independence started the season ranked fifth nationally before crashing to a 2-8 start. The season included plenty of intense moments (SPOLIER ALERT), including an on-field brawl, a quarterback controversy and even a coaching change.

For a little perspective on the show, 247Sports reached out to former Independence CC staff member Frank Diaz, who served as the program’s co-offensive coordinator and QB coach during the 2017 season and Year 1 of filming in Kansas. Diaz, who is now a graduate assistant at Florida Atlantic, discussed a number of topics with 247Sports including: head coach Jason Brown, quarterback Malik Henry and his time at FAU under Lane Kiffin.

He also reflects on what may’ve gone wrong for Indy in 2018, a program, he says, that lacked leadership in 2017.

The full Q&A, which was conducted last Friday via phone, is below. It has been edited lightly for clarity.

247Sports: How did you end up at Florida Atlantic, and what was the Year 1 experience like for you?

Diaz: “After the season I was hired as the offensive coordinator/assistant head coach at Santa Monica High School. I was there for about four of five months. The show dropped and personnel from FAU had reached out to me and asked if I wanted to join the staff. And of course I wanted to be around a great head coach like Lane Kiffin. I wanted to learn from him and get myself around some great coaches. My first year there working at FAU I assisted the offensive staff with whatever it was needed. I spent most of my time with the offensive coordinator there, Charlie Weis Jr., a very intelligent coordinator. He’s been around a lot of great coordinators. He’s very detailed oriented and brings a lot to FAU football and it’s been good to be around some great coaches.”

247Sports: You’re working as a wide receiver graduate assistant now. What goes into that role?

Diaz: “It’s almost the same thing. This year I’m helping DJ McCarthy, our wide receivers coach. He was at LSU when they won a national championship and he’s been around some places. He’s a very, very good mentor to our young athletes. What goes into it is you just assist and help out with whatever is needed with the offensive staff. Primarily as a GA you prepare the scout team defense for the offense and prepare them as much as possible for the upcoming opponent and their tendencies.”

247Sports: I assume you don’t have to work for free any longer like you did on the show?

Diaz: “I do not work for free, thank god. But that’s part of the grind. Me saying that took a lot of courage, but I didn’t just speak for myself. I spoke for millions of other coaches who do the exact same thing. That created awareness. Millions of people watched the show and know there are coaches who do this for free. It’s not as glamourous as people think it is. People usually turn on their TV on Saturday and see all the lights and camera and action. They don’t know what goes on behind those doors.”

247Sports: Will it be a little weird watching “Last Chance U” this season knowing you were a big part of this show just a year ago?

Diaz: “I don’t think it’s going to be weird. I think it’ll be interesting. I thought they had a really good team depth wise based on what I read. But I’ll find it interesting to see where they went wrong.”

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247Sports: How would you describe working under Jason Brown?

Diaz: “I’ve always said there’s never been any bad blood. He’s a fiery coach. Jason Brown is a, you know, a controversial coach. Despite some of that I recognize the great things he’s done at Independence. He restarted up the program. He put guys out to four-year schools. It’s all about getting the kids out and pushing them toward their goals. And he did that. Some things went wrong and some events occurred, and that’s all I’ve heard. Working underneath him was a grind. But he had good intentions.

247Sports: You said controversial. What comes to your mind first when you think of that word and Jason Brown?

Diaz: “Just the way he executes. That’s the bottom line.”

247Sports: What was your reaction when you saw Coach Brown lost his job?

Diaz: “I got that through one of our texts. I was a bit shocked. He had done so much good for the community despite the way he comes across. And the players do respect him. So, I was a bit surprised.”

247Sports: Obviously the allegations about him through the text message weren’t palatable. Had you seen any behavior like that during your time as a coach with him?

Diaz: “No, not at all. I was very football oriented when I was there. I didn’t let those other things distract me.”

247Sports: Malik Henry made his way back to Independence and eventually to Nevada. What are your expectations for Malik during his final chance at Nevada?

Diaz: “I expect him to be the best he can possibly be. I think he knows how talented he is, and the sky is the limit for him. I think he’s well aware of what are some of his troubles. But I think sky’s the limit for Malik and I really expect him to get a chance to play for a team in the NFL.

247Sports: So you still believe that natural ability that talent can carry him to the NFL?

Diaz: "One-hundred percent, man. But at the end of the day character still counts. At the end of the day you have to have great character. You have to be a leader and you have to be able to rally your team together.”

247Sports: What should we know about Malik that the show may not have portrayed?

Diaz: “Malik is actually very quiet. He keeps to himself. He loves the game and he has, uh, how can I say this, he’s so competitive that he gets on his guys, which is a good thing, a great thing. But sometimes he can get on his guys and be a little too harsh, because his expectations are so high and that’s what he expects from himself.”

247Sports: What do you think went wrong this season for Indy?

Diaz: “I think they went 2-8. There’s a lot of factors man. One of the most difficult things is coming back from a successful season, you know? In this case you had a team coming off of 9-2 on Netflix. I think it was the fourth-most binge-watched show on TV. Teams were able to see and hear what Independence’s feeling, emotions and thoughts were toward its opponents. Now you give a year of these teams to watch what you said and you had a successful team the previous year and you come back with a bigger target on your back. People really want to beat you on Netflix. They want to talk to you and try to get under your skin. I think the 2018 season, I can imagine the pressure there was there and how each team came out and wanted to beat them.

“Another thing too, each year there’s staff turnover. I know Independence lost quite a bit of coaches from the previous 9-2 season. Coaches go on, some get fired, and the coaches’ chemistry is a little different each year. To be a competitive program and a successful program you have to try and keep that intact, especially with the coaches, because the coaches keep the relationships with the players, right? To be successful you have to have that consistency.

“Another thing, players become complacent. They feel like everyone will be intimidated by them because they were really good the year before. Players won’t challenge themselves too much or push themselves. Sometimes coaches won’t maximize those kids’ potential. Teams fail to realize the year before is the year before. I’m not saying you change the foundation of what you built your program on, but you find those small little things you messed up on the year before and you fix those with leaders.

“If there’s one thing I can say about the 2017 season is we didn’t have a lot of leaders. When you really look at successful team they have multiple leaders.”

247Sports: Finally, in regard to FAU, you work at a place with a lot of individuals with ties to this ‘Last Chance U’ franchise. Is FAU sort of the ‘Last Chance U’ of the FBS?

Diaz: “No, not at all man. Coach Kiffin is a fan of the show, and he gives people chances. That’s all it comes down to. I think the media blows things out of proportion. FAU is not the ‘Last Chance U’ of the FBS. He just gives people opportunities because he sees the talent in them and tries to help them out. That’s who Coach Kiffin is. He’s a genuine person, a down-to-earth person who wants to help people out.”