Nolan chose the right Man(usky) for the job

By Chris Cluff  |   Wednesday, June 13, 2007  |  Comments( 9 )

San Francisco 49ers
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When the San Francisco 49ers' Mike Nolan eschewed promoting linebackers coach Mike Singletary to defensive coordinator to replace the fired Billy Davis in the offseason, some criticized the coach for basically slapping one of his own assistants in the face.

But Nolan had some very good reasons for bypassing Singletary and hiring Greg Manusky away from the San Diego Chargers. First of all, Singletary -- despite his extreme inexperience as a coach -- was already being viewed as a potential head coach by several teams. Even though he has been coaching pro linebackers for just four seasons, Singletary already has garnered interest over the past two offseasons from the Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons, Dallas Cowboys and Chargers. Hiring him would most likely have meant replacing him within a year or two.

Meanwhile, Manusky had a proven track record with the Chargers over the past five seasons, leading a Pro Bowl-populated linebacker corps on one of the league's best defenses.

"I wanted to get an NFL-experienced guy into the job -- someone that had been around it, seen it, done it the right way," Nolan told reporters when he hired Manusky in early February. "We will continue to collectively put a game plan together, but that will be Greg's call. I think he's got a great mind to do it."

Manusky's mind-set comes from 12 years as an NFL linebacker and coaching tutelage under Tony Dungy, Marty Schottenheimer and Wade Phillips.

When he retired after the 1999 season, Manusky went directly into coaching. In 2000, he volunteered with Dungy's Tampa Bay Buccaneers during training camp; and in 2001, he was hired by Schottenheimer -- his former coach in Kansas City -- to tutor the Washington Redskins' linebackers. In 2002, Manusky followed Schottenheimer to San Diego, and in five seasons with the Chargers, Manusky sent four of his linebackers to the Pro Bowl while also learning the intricacies of the 3-4 defense under Phillips.

"I learned a lot about the game from Wade, as well as Dave Adolph, Marty and Tony Dungy," Manusky told the 49ers' website. "Those are probably my biggest influences, and they taught me so much about the game from when I was a player and now as a coach. I have loads of respect for all of them, and yet they all have different ways of coaching. I think it's important to take the best traits from each one and then mix it with what you do best and your own coaching personality."

Manusky's personality was recently gaged in a survey Nolan administered to his coaches, and the 49ers' new defensive coordinator was labeled a "Supervisor," which means he "likes to run things, has no time to waste, gets things done, needs to improve on slowing down and being patient."

Along with his knowledge of the 3-4 defense Nolan wants to run, those are traits that should serve Manusky well as he attempts to fashion a unit that is much better than the San Francisco defense that in 2006 surrendered an NFL-high 412 points, ranked 26th in yards allowed (223 per game), and gave up 25 touchdown passes (fourth most in the league) and a 63.9 completion percentage (third worst in the league).

Manusky has a lot of work to do, with 10 new defenders to insert into his scheme. He has a lot of good players -- led by top free-agent cornerback Nate Clements and first-round linebacker Patrick Willis -- but he does not think that automatically means the 49ers will turn into the Northern California version of the Chargers.

"You'd like to say all the right things -- we are going to stop the run, we're going to sack the QB, knock down every pass -- but that's not realistic," Manusky told 49ers.com. "It's what our players can do, and putting them in the right position to do it. We don't want to try to force a square peg in a round hole. Even from an identity standpoint or schematically, you don't ever want to take a player and try to force him into a mold. That's one of the biggest things I've learned in coaching, because sometimes what works for one team doesn't work for another.

"This defense is going to go where the players take it, more than anything else," Manusky said. "Even though we've got an idea of where we want it to go and where we think it will go, the players will dictate that."

But Manusky's maniacal "Supervisor" persona will dictate one factor: "The one thing I can say about this defense is that I'll expect these guys to play with passion. You've got to go out there and play with excitement, energy and passion. That was my approach as a player, that's what I believe I bring to the table from a coaching perspective, and that's what I'll expect from our players."

Nolan is confident the players will respond to Manusky.

"He did a great job with San Diego's 3-4 and is familiar with what we want to do," Nolan told Pro Football Weekly. "He's very knowledgeable, passionate, energetic and thorough. I like his command, and I think he will do a real good job for us. I also think in a few years I'll probably be replacing another guy."

So, then, how can the 49ers' defense fail with two future head coaches leading the way this season?

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About Chris Cluff

Chris Cluff spent 10 years as an editor and sportswriter for The Seattle Times. He was a key figure in the newspaper's coverage of the Seahawks, particularly during their Super Bowl run in 2005. He also has written two books on the Seahawks: "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Heart-Pounding,...
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CommentsComments: 9  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Mike		07:38 AM
06/13/2007
All I can say is man, this guy has got my attention & has got me psyched with positive vibes. So far I like the way this guy...
No.2
lou		11:07 AM
06/13/2007
I've been reading the articles about Singletary and Manusky and I think I understand the situation a lot better now. This year...
No.3
Mike		12:54 PM
06/13/2007
That's a tough one Lou. I don't think Nolan had any way of foreseeing that coaching situation. From what I'm speculating he just...
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