 Manuel withGreen Bay Packers in 2006 | |||||||||||||||
| New York Giants | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Defensive backs coach | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1979-07-11)July 11, 1979 (age 46) Miami, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 213 lb (97 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Miami (Miami, Florida) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Florida (1997–2001) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2002: 6th round, 181st overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Position | Defensive back, No. 44, 33, 22, 36, 40 | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
Playing | |||||||||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Coaching profile at Pro Football Reference | |||||||||||||||
Marquand Alexander Manuel (born July 11, 1979) is an Americanfootball coach and formersafety who serves as thedefensive backs coach for theNew York Giants of theNational Football League (NFL). He has previously served as thedefensive coordinator for theAtlanta Falcons and as an assistant coach for theSeattle Seahawks. After playingcollege football for theUniversity of Florida, he was selected in the sixth round of the2002 NFL draft. He played for eight seasons in the NFL for theCincinnati Bengals,Seattle Seahawks,Green Bay Packers,Carolina Panthers,Denver Broncos, andDetroit Lions. He was the defensive coordinator for theAtlanta Falcons from 2017 to 2018.
Manuel was born inMiami, Florida in 1979.[1] He attendedMiami Senior High School,[2] and he played high school football for the Miami HighStingarees.[3] As a senior safety in 1996, Manuel was a Florida Class 6A all-state selection who made ninety-six tackles, nine interceptions, and eight blocked passes.[3] He received high schoolAll-America recognition from National Recruiting Advisor, PrepStar, and SuperPrep, and was rated among the top defensive back prospects in the country.[3] Manuel was also a four-year honor roll student, and ran the100-meter dash in 10.6 seconds for the Miami Stingarees track team.[3]
Manuel accepted an athletic scholarship to attend theUniversity of Florida in Gainesville, Florida,[3] where he played for coachSteve Spurrier'sFlorida Gators football team from1998 to2001.[4] The Gators coaching staff decided tored-shirt him as a true freshman in1997, but he played in all eleven regular season games in1998.[3] As a sophomore in1999, he totaled 118 tackles, three interceptions, two sacks, one forced fumble and four passes defensed as a sophomore.[3] He started two games atoutside linebacker, in addition to seeing significant action atsafety,[3] and led the team in tackles.[4]
As a junior in2000, Manuel served as a key leader on Florida's 10–2Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship team that earned a berth in theSugar Bowl.[3] As a senior team captain in2001, he helped lead the Gators to a 10–2 record, a 56–23 victory over theMaryland Terrapins in theOrange Bowl, and a final No. 3 ranking in both major polls.[3][4] He played in forty-six games during his collegiate career, and totaled 308 tackles, eightquarterback sacks, nine tackles for a loss, six fumble recoveries, twenty-two passes defended and six interceptions.[3]
Manuel was a four-year SEC Academic Honor Roll honoree.[4] He earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from the University of Florida in December 2000 and finished his college football career as a graduate student working toward a master's degree in education counseling with a special emphasis on mental health.[3]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | Bench press | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 209 lb (95 kg) | 30+3⁄4 in (0.78 m) | 10 in (0.25 m) | 4.52 s | 18 reps | |||||||
| All values fromNFL Combine[5] | ||||||||||||
TheCincinnati Bengals selected Manuel in the sixth round (181st pick overall) of the2002 NFL draft,[6][7] and he played for the Bengals for two seasons in2002 and2003.[8] Manuel made his NFL debut against theCleveland Browns on September 15, 2002, and started for the first time against theIndianapolis Colts and had two tackles. During the 2003 season, Manuel totaled eight tackles (six solo) in thirteen games with one start for the Bengals,[8] and he also added five tackles on special teams. Manuel was waived by Cincinnati on September 5, 2004.
Manuel was claimed off waivers by theSeattle Seahawks on September 6, 2004. In his first season with Seattle in2004, he played in fifteen games, finishing with ten tackles (seven solo) on defense and had nine stops on special teams.[1] In2005, Manuel was part of the Seahawks team that finished 13–3. In the 2005 NFC Championship Game against theCarolina Panthers, he returned an interception thirty-two yards to set up a touchdown. The Seahawks reachedSuper Bowl XL, but lost to thePittsburgh Steelers 21–10. Manuel started the Super Bowl at free safety but injured his hip in the second quarter, and was replaced byEtric Pruitt.
After Seattle's appearance in the Super Bowl, he was signed by theGreen Bay Packers as an unrestricted free agent on March 13, 2006. During his only season with the Packers in2006, Manuel started all sixteen games, totaling a career-high 103 tackles to rank fourth on the team.[8] Memorably, he intercepted a pass deflected byAhmad Carroll and returned it twenty-nine yards for a touchdown against theDetroit Lions on September 24.
The Green Bay Packers released Manuel on September 1, 2007, during the final preseason roster cuts, and he was signed by the Carolina Panthers on September 3. He played for the Panthers for a single season during2007, playing in sixteen games and starting in two of them.[1]
The Denver Broncos signed Manuel as an unrestricted free agent on March 8, 2008,[9] and he played for the Broncos for a single season in2008.[8] He played in all sixteen regular season games for the Broncos, starting in fourteen of them, and tallying eighty-three tackles and four blocked passes.[1]
Manuel was signed by the Lions as a free agent on June 2, 2009,[10] and he played his final season in2009 for the Lions.[8] He played in nine games for the Lions, starting in six of them, and compiling thirty-six tackles.[1] The Lions released him on August 4, 2010, during the 2010 preseason.
During his eight seasons in the NFL, Manuel played in 116 games, starting in fifty-seven of them, and compiled 366 tackles; he also had fifteen blocked passes, two interceptions, and four forced fumbles.[2]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | PD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 2002 | CIN | 15 | 8 | 42 | 32 | 10 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | CIN | 13 | 1 | 16 | 12 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | SEA | 15 | 0 | 19 | 12 | 7 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | SEA | 16 | 11 | 72 | 59 | 13 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | GNB | 16 | 16 | 81 | 62 | 19 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 | 29 | 1 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | CAR | 16 | 2 | 18 | 16 | 2 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | DEN | 16 | 14 | 84 | 62 | 22 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | DET | 9 | 6 | 36 | 30 | 6 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 116 | 58 | 368 | 285 | 83 | 1.0 | 8 | 2 | 33 | 1 | 29 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | PD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 2004 | SEA | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | SEA | 3 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 32 | 0 | 32 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 32 | 0 | 32 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
On February 14, 2012, the Seattle Seahawks announced that the team had hired Manuel to serve as the Seahawks' assistant special teams coach.[11] A year later he was named defensive assistant.[12] where he helped the Seahawks withSuper Bowl XLVIII.[13] In 2014 he was promoted to assistant secondaries coach, helping the Seahawks reachSuper Bowl XLIX, where they lost to the New England Patriots.
Manuel was hired by the Atlanta Falcons in 2015 as the defensive backs coach, followingDan Quinn from Seattle to Atlanta. After coming under fire for it,[14] During the 2016 offseason, Manuel interviewed for theJacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator position, though he did not get the job.[15] In the 2016 season, Manuel and the Falcons reachedSuper Bowl LI, where they lost to theNew England Patriots on February 5, 2017.[16]
On February 10, 2017, Manuel was promoted to defensive coordinator of the Falcons.[17]
Manuel let his contract expire with the Atlanta Falcons after the 2018 season in which the team finished with a 7–9 record.[18]
Manuel was hired by thePhiladelphia Eagles as theirdefensive backs coach on February 5, 2020.[19]
On January 23, 2025, Manuel was hired to serve as the defensive backs coach and defensive pass game coordinator for theNew York Giants.[20]
He established the Marquand Manuel Foundation to help kids in his hometown of Miami. His oldest brother, John, was aParade magazine All-American and played football atUniversity of Florida. Marquand is the ninth of nineteen children and has a family of siblings whose ages differ by 25 years from oldest to youngest. Manuel has two children.