Former Vikings Coach Joins Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos
Josh Frey
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Earlier this week, the Minnesota Vikings let their linebackers coach Greg Manusky go after just one season in Minnesota. When that happened, yours truly was of the mindset that there would be options for Manusky if he wanted to continue coaching given his extensive experience as a coach and player.
Well, it indeed didn’t take long for the former Vikings coach to land another job as Manusky has signed with the Denver Broncos on Thursday, joining Sean Payton’s staff as the inside linebackers coach, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
Manusky has been a coach at either the collegiate or NFL level for the past 22 years, and prior to that, he had 12 years of playing experiences as an NFL linebacker in Washington, Minnesota, and Kansas City.
The former Vikings linebackers coach got his first NFL coaching gig in that same role with Washington, but after one season, he joined the San Diego Chargers where he spent 2002-06. In 2007, he jumped up to northern California, taking his first defensive coordinator job with the San Francisco 49ers.
His best season with the Niners came in 2009 when San Francisco ranked fourth in points allowed, but due to a sub-par offense that scored more than 20 points in just nine of their 16 games, they went 8-8 and missed the playoffs.
After the 2010 season, Manusky went back down to San Diego for 2011, taking over the defensive coordinator job there for just that one season. After the Chargers went 6-10, he again was searching for a new job and got one with the Indianapolis Colts, again as the DC.
With the Colts, Manusky was part of playoff teams every year from 2012-14 with 2012’s first overall pick Andrew Luck at quarterback, including an AFC Championship Game appearance in 2014.
Then, things took a step back in 2015 with Luck suffering from injury that only allowed him to play seven games. The Colts missed the playoffs with an 8-8 record, and their defense under Manusky ranked 25th in points allowed.
Following that season, Indy let Manusky go, and he went back to his roots, signing on with Washington in 2016 as the outside linebackers coach. He spent one season in that role before being promoted to defensive coordinator again in 2017, and he coached in that role for three seasons.
2020 was the first year where he stepped outside the NFL to coach, opting to join the Kentucky Wildcats in the role of defensive quality control. He spent both the 2020 and 2021 seasons there before joining the Vikings staff in 2022, and now, Manusky is joining his fifth NFL franchise by working under Sean Payton in 2023.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. He also earned minors in History, Human Biology, and Journalism. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys marathon training, playing video games, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. For more of his opinions, check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.