Not the Hollywood Hire, But Manusky Can Provide Stability at Defensive Coordinator
By Jamual Forrest
On what is commonly known as “Championship Sunday” throughout the NFL in the Conference championship round of the playoffs, the Redskins promoted outside linebackers coach Greg Manusky to defensive coordinator after a two week search that expanded far and wide. When speaking of the hire, Scot McCloughan called Greg “a great guy” and “half crazy”. The energy being brought by Manusky is similar to Barry, but that does not mean they are the same schematically. While fan excitement level for Manusky is low, some of the Redskins defensive players were hoping he got the promotion as they pushed for him in interviews with local media. In his one year as a position coach with Washington, his unit totaled 24 sacks on a defense that was tied for 7th in sacks with 38 on the year. 3rd year linebacker Trent Murphy had a career high in sacks with 8 in his first year with Manusky as his position coach, showing how valuable he can be for this team. Manusky proved his worth as a coach, as his unit was one which performed well in a year that the defense as a whole was historically bad. He will now have an opportunity to prove his worth in an even bigger role.
This will be his fourth stint as a defensive coordinator. His first three were with the San Francisco 49ers (2007-2011), San Diego Chargers (2011), and Indianapolis Colts (2012-2015). Statistically he will not wow you with his defenses, as his best season was 2009 where the 49ers were 15th in yards allowed and 4th in points allowed. His units were not great in the takeaway categories as well, as he only posted a top 10 takeaway unit twice in 9 seasons.
This can turn out to be a solid decision because of the team’s focus heading into the offseason. The Redskins are heading into an offseason where a talent infusion is needed on the defensive side of the football. A few outside candidates did not want the job because of the lack of talent already on the roster along with the uncertainty of Jay Gruden’s future with Washington. Candidates like Gus Bradley and Wade Phillips felt more security in Los Angeles with their respective teams. General Manager Scot McCloughan will make sure his old friend from San Francisco will have as much talent as Washington can buy or draft when the offseason starts so Manusky won’t be set up to fail. Jay Gruden’s last two defensive coordinators, Jim Haslett and Joe Barry, were not given much to work with at all on that side of the ball and struggled as expected. Outside of the Josh Norman signing, the multiple stop gap signings and second or third chance opportunities for players who didn’t work well elsewhere created a patch work unit for 3 consecutive years.
Another reason why Manusky can work is by building a solid defensive staff around him. Position coaches play a big role into a coordinator’s success as well, and the Redskins have a couple targets in mind to make sure Manusky’s staff is solid. While inside linebackers coach Kirk Olivadotti was retained, former 49ers head coach and defensive line coach Jim Tomsula is rumored to likely join the Redskins staff as a defensive line coach and Aubrey Pleasant is likely to be promoted to defensive backs coach, as they retained him as well.
These things do not guarantee a successful tenure, but it will put Greg in the best position to succeed. With the way things went with Jay Gruden’s first two defensive coordinators, Washington will make sure the third coach sticks. Manusky himself has an opportunity to prove his worth as well with the general manager, head coach, and players already in his corner.