All it took was a phone call.
Greg Manusky was a veteran NFL defensive coordinator _ for four different teams, no less _ weighing his options after the now Washington Football Team changed coaching staffs at the end of the 2019 season when he got a call from Kentucky defensive coordinator Brad White.
"He said, did I want to do a little analyst work for him," Manusky said Tuesday morning. "And I said, 'Sure.'"
And with that, Mark Stoops' staff added another set of ears and eyes, plus a rare combination of experience and knowledge in the 54-year-old Pennsylvania native who serves as a "quality control assistant," a job often taken by someone hoping to work his way up the professional ladder.
It's a ladder Manusky has already climbed. A college star at Colgate, he played for the Redskins (1988-90), Vikings (1991-93) and Chiefs (1994-99) in the NFL before starting his coaching career with Washington in 2001. By 2007, he was defensive coordinator with the 49ers, moving to the Chargers in 2011, the Colts in 2012 and the Redskins in 2016.
It was at Indianapolis where Manusky worked with White, then a young quality control assistant before being promoted to linebackers coach. "We went in together," Manusky said. "It was my first year in Indy and his, as well. It was fun."
After the Colts let Chuck Pagano go as head coach in 2017, Stoops hired White to coach his outside linebackers before promoting him to defensive coordinator in 2019 when Matt House left for the Kansas City Chiefs. When new Washington coach Ron Rivera decided to bring in his own staff, White reached out to Manusky.
"He's phenomenal resource, not just for me but for our entire staff," White said Tuesday. "I can shoot off ideas and he can soundboard back. It's huge from an idea standpoint in sort of that think tank mentality."
"It's been a great situation," Manusky said. "I'd never been in the college realm before from a coaching perspective."
Quality control assistants have become a great resource all through college football. Nick Saban was out in front with the practice at Alabama, often hiring veteran coaches between jobs to help with scouting, film breakdown and game preparation. Mark Stoops' brother Mike is occupying such a role now at Alabama.
"I help with how to attack offenses, how are they attacking us, with play calls and stuff," Manusky said. "I do advance (scouting) stuff on the opponent as far as telling them, 'These are the players you have to take away. Here's what they do well.'"
Manusky is one of five quality control coaches on Stoops' staff, joining Josh Estes-Waugh, Louie Matsakis, Mark Perry and Joe Scola.
"They all work extremely hard," Stoops said Monday. "(Greg) just has a great demeanor about him and he works so well with Brad. They have such comfort together and he is a great person to have around."
There are more than a few players on this Kentucky football roster who hope to develop into an NFL player. What better resource than someone like Manusky.
"It's just teaching them, 'Hey, bros, this is what you have to do to get to the next level,'" Manusky said. "I've seen it through my 30-32 years of coaching and playing. It's what I did as a player and what I've seen as a position coach and a coordinator."
Said White: "He can say, 'This is what I looked for when I was watching film, when I was evaluating.'"
As for White's development as a coach, "Brad is one of the best coaches I've been around," Manusky said. "You know he's got those dark eyes, he looked like a cobra when I first met him. It's been phenomenal just to see him grow."
Would Manusky like to get back on the field in a coaching capacity? Sure, he said, explaining that he has always been drawn to the education side of the profession. Right now, however, he's enjoying what he's doing.
"We're in the back room back there just grinding, talking ball," he said. "Every day is a great day."
