Washington Redskins Choose Greg Manusky As Their Defensive Coordinator

The Washington Redskins made a big internal hire on Sunday when they announced that Greg Manusky was going to be their next defensive coordinator.

The wait is finally over. On Sunday afternoon, the Washington Redskins made their choice as to who would be their defensive coordinator during the 2017 season. Despite bringing in seven candidates for interviews, they elected to stay within the organization and went with Greg Manusky as their next defensive coordinator. The news first broke via NFL Network’s Kevin Patra.

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Manusky is a former Redskins player who coached their outside linebackers during the 2016 season. He was responsible for the growth and development of Trent Murphy and generally was good during his first season in charge of that unit. Manusky also has nine years of experience as a defensive coordinator, so that experience will help him out.

That said, Manusky has never coached a truly great defense. With the 49ers, his best defense finished 15th in the league in yards allowed and 4th in scoring. He put together another top 10 scoring defense in his second year with the Colts, but aside from that most of his units were middle of the pack.

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Still, these scoring defense numbers could benefit the Redskins. They fared poorly in the red zone this past season and gave up a lot of yards. With some improvements in personnel and some new coaching, they may be able to limit opposing a bit more in the red zone and use their superior offense to gain an edge. Manusky has to focus on this aspect of the team top improve. It is his best chance to improve the unit.

Also helping Manusky’s case is that he is familiar with the organization, so he will not have any sort of acclimation time needed. Keeping him on will allow for continuity, and the Redskins will be happy to make the change quickly. Manusky had to have impressed them, so this could be the right move.

It seems like Gus Bradley’s decision may have played a role in the team’s decision as well. Bradley was hired by the Los Angeles Chargers over the weekend. It appears that the Redskins zeroed in on Manusky as their top target once Bradley was off the board.

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Moving forward, it will be interesting to see if the Redskins defense actually improves under Manusky. He was a part of the defensive staff last year, so he has to get some of the blame for the team’s poor play down the stretch. That said, he will run the show differently than Joe Barry, and he deserves a chance to see what he can do. If he cannot help get the Redskins to the playoffs, then he may find himself looking for work again in the near future.

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