Vikings Add Another Coach

The Minnesota Vikings inched a little closer to a complete coaching staff. Greg Manusky was hired yesterday to coach the inside linebackers. He brings a load of defensive coaching experience to part of a position group. Most recently, he was a defensive assistant coach for the University of Kentucky. He has 19 years of NFL coaching experience, 12 as a defensive coordinator. Three of those years were as the defensive coordinator of the Washington Redskins. Those were the same three years that Kevin O’Connell coached in Washington (2017-19). Manusky and Mike Smith will combine to coach the Vikings linebackers. Manusky will focus on those playing on the inside and Smith will focus on those playing on the outside. 

This isn’t the first time that football has brought Manusky to Minnesota. From 1991-93, he played linebacker and special teams for the Vikings. He had a 12-year playing career with Washington, Minnesota, and Kansas City. 

Greg Manusky’s Football Life

as a player:

Washington Redskins (1998-90)

Minnesota Vikings (1991-93)

Kansas City Chiefs (1994-99)

As a coach:

Washington Redskins (2001) Linebackers

San Diego Chargers (2002-06) Linebackers

San Francisco 49ers (2007-10) Defensive Coordinator

San Diego Chargers (2011) Defensive Coordinator 

Indianapolis Colts (2012-15) Defensive Coordinator

Washington Redskins (2016) Outside Linebackers 

Washington Redskins (2017-19) Defensive Coordinator 

Kentucky (2020-21) Defensive Quality Control Assistant

Minnesota Vikings (2021-present) Inside Linebackers

Manusky brings a ridiculous amount of NFL coaching experience to a single position group. One thing that has always stood about Manusky from his playing career to his coaching career is his energy and passion. He’s a fiery fellow. His presence should be fun. The Vikings will be using a 3-4 as their base defensive front for the first time since the 1981-85 seasons. They’ll vary that look at times to match and confuse offenses. The switch to a 3-4 also presented the need to bring in a coach to focus on the inside linebackers. There are twice as many now. 

With addition of Greg Manusky, the current Minnesota Vikings Coaching Staff:

Head Coach: Kevin O’Connell

Assistant Head Coach: Mike Pettine

Offensive Coordinator: Wes Phillips

Defensive Coordinator: Ed Donatell

Special Teams Coordinator: Matt Daniels

Offense:

Quarterbacks: Chris O’Hara

Assistant Quarterbacks: Jerrod Johnson 

Run Game Coordinator/Running Backs: Curtis Modkins

Receivers: Keenan McCardell

Pass Game Coodinator/Tight Ends: Brian Angelichio

Offensive Line: Chris Kuper

Assistant Offensive Line: Justin Rascati

Defense:

Defensive Line: Chris Rumph

Outside Linebackers/Pass Rush Specialist: Mike Smith

Inside Linebackers: Greg Manusky

Defensive Backs: Daronte Jones

Special Teams:

Assistant Special Teams: Ben Kotwica

The Vikings now have three coaches with a combined 31 years of NFL defensive coordinator experience.

Ed Donatell (11 years)

Mike Pettine (8 years)

Greg Manusky (12 years)

That’s a lot of defensive coordinator experience. That’s probably a good situation for a young, first-time, offensive-minded head coach. Kevin O’Connell can focus on getting comfortable in his new job and installing his offense. He can leave the defensive work to the very experienced coaches that he hired. The defensive coordinator experience doesn’t stop with the NFL guys. Chris Rumph was a co-defensive coordinator for three years at Florida and Tennessee. Mike Smith was a co-defensive coordinator for three years at Texas Tech. Daronte Jones was a defensive coordinator for one year at LSU. All of the Vikings current defensive coaches have spent some time as a defensive coordinator in college or the NFL. That feels unique. 

I expect the Vikings to add an assistant defensive line coach, an assistant defensive back coach, and at least two quality control coaches. These positions are assistants to the assistants. As a fan of completion, I hope that the completed 2022 Minnesota Vikings Coaching Staff is announced soon.