Marquand Manuel to stay with the Atlanta Falcons

Marquand Manuel was a finalist for the Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator position, but will now stay on with the Atlanta Falcons’ coaching staff.

ESPN’s Vaughn McClure reports that the once vacant Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator position has fortunately been filled through an internal promotion in the Jaguars organization. While former Jaguars defensive line coach Todd Wash is now head coach Gus Bradley’s main man on his defensive staff, we can safely say that Atlanta Falcons defensive backs coach Marquand Manuel will not leave Flowery Branch for North Florida. Manuel will be on the Atlanta Falcons’ defensive staff in 2016.

Marquand Manuel was a finalist for the position, as he had previously worked for Gus Bradley while they were together in Seattle in 2012. Manuel, Bradley, and Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn all ultimately stem from the Pete Carroll coaching tree from up in the Pacific Northwest with the Seattle Seahawks.

While the Atlanta Falcons will have to find a new wide receivers coach now that long-time coach of that position group Terry Robiskie will trek north to Nashville to become the offensive coordinator for Mike Mularkey‘s Tennessee Titans, Atlanta Falcons fans can feel a sense of relief that Marquand Manuel will be back in 2016 to coach the vastly improved secondary.

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Last season, we saw players like cornerback Desmond Trufant, cornerback Robert Alford, free safety Ricardo Allen, and strong safety Kemal Ishmael all grow in their first season of the new Atlanta Falcons’ defense. This staff of Dan Quinn’s has many great on-field teachers, especially Marquand Manuel and defensive passing coordinator Raheem Morris.

For Atlanta to take the next step defensively in 2016, one area of the team will have to ascend to an elite level. While the linebacker corps outplayed their skill level in 2016, the defensive line still needs overhauling, so it seems likely that the good, but not great secondary will have to take that leap next season. Manuel’s great coaching tactics will certainly play a part in their development.

In 2016, Manuel’s biggest project in the secondary is to get a more consistent season out of second-year player cornerback Jalen Collins. Atlanta selected him in the second round out of LSU in the 2015 NFL Draft and largely failed to meet reasonable expectations as a rookie.

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Perhaps Manuel can help slow the game down for Collins so that Atlanta Falcons can have a trio, possibly a quartet of strong corners, assuming Phillip Adams returns in dime situations. To fully give the Dirty South version of the Legion of Boom flight, Atlanta will have to become a more efficient team in defending in the pass in press coverage. It bodes well for the Atlanta Falcons that Marquand Manuel stays in Flowery Branch at least one more season before leaving for a defensive coordinator job.