A New York Jets assistant might be heading for greener pastures this offseason.
NFL Insider Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report shared on X previously Twitter that the Jacksonville Jaguars “have requested to interview” Marquand Manuel for their vacant defensive coordinator position.
Manuel has been the Jets’ defensive backs and safeties coach since 2021 when he was first hired by head coach Robert Saleh.
Manuel Is Raising Eyebrows Around the League
Last year Manuel interviewed for a coordinator position with the Carolina Panthers, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.
The #Jaguars have requested to interview #Jets’ safeties coach Marquand Manuel for their open DC position, sources tell @BleacherReport.
Manuel played eight NFL seasons at DB and has been coaching for over a decade. pic.twitter.com/4hsmEZt2Eb
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) January 12, 2024
While the Jets’ offense left much to be desired this past season, the defense was the backbone of the unit. Manuel doesn’t call the plays for the Gang Green defense but he has been an integral part of the team.
#Panthers requested permission to interview #Jets safeties coach Marquand Manuel for a coordinator position, per sources. Carolina is searching for a head coach but appears to be doing legwork on other staff matters. Manuel, former Falcons DC, is part of fourth-ranked NYJ defense
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) January 15, 2023
Saleh gave a ton of credit to Manuel for the Week 6 upset win over the Philadelphia Eagles. In that game the Jets were forced to use spare parts in the secondary because of injuries to Sauce Gardner, DJ Reed, and eventually Michael Carter II during the game.
Manuel along with defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich put an adaptive gameplan together to shut down one of the best offenses in football. To do that with a full complement of players would have been impressive but the Jets had to do it without their full squad.
Manuel, 44, first got into coaching back in 2012 with the Seattle Seahawks. The Jets are the fourth different team he has been with as a coach over the last 11 years.
The majority of his career has been spent as either an assistant or a positional coach. Manuel did have one stint as a defensive coordinator with the Atlanta Falcons for two seasons from 2017 through 2018.
Before his coaching career, Manuel spent eight years in the NFL as a player.
Breece Hall Had an Amazing Season for the Jets in 2023
Only one player in the entire AFC conference finished with more combined yards in 2023 than Breece Hall and that was Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill, per Jets Senior Director Eric Allen.
Hill finished with 1,814 yards from scrimmage. Hall had 1,585 scrimmage yards.
Former Jets linebacker Bart Scott “absolutely” believes that Hall’s “floor” is 2,000 scrimmage yards in 2024.
This past season Hall had to operate with less than ideal conditions at the quarterback position. Despite that reality, he appeared in all 17 games and had a career-best year.
If he was able to accomplish that under those conditions, imagine what he could do with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback.
COWABUNGA!@eallenjets said ONLY #Dolphins WR @cheetah had more combined yards this year in the AFC than #Jets RB @BreeceH. @nickmangold: ‘I think that just shows what kind of playmaker he is’@BartScott57 ‘absolutely’ thinks 2,000 scrimmage yards is the floor for him in 2024… pic.twitter.com/LiPW7qeTIY
— Paul Andrew Esden Jr (@BoyGreen25) January 13, 2024
Hall endured a tough lull in the middle of the season across a nine-game stretch where he averaged 2.5 yards per carry. Was that a sophomore slump? Still recovering from his torn ACL? Or perhaps he was affected by poor O-Line play and inconsistent quarterbacks with him on offense?
It’s impossible to fully diagnose and point to one thing as the main reason. The good news is Hall finished strong. In the Week 18 contest against the New England Patriots, Hall rushed for 178 rushing yards which was the most of his career in a single game.
