The Carolina Panthers are currently quite deep in their growing search for a new head coach. But they will, of course, need more than just a new head coach.
As first reported by Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, the Panthers have requested an interview with New York Jets safeties coach Marquand Manuel for a coordinator position. Given Manuel’s background, this is—presumably—regarding Carolina’s defensive coordinator job.
#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
A defensive back in his playing days, the Miami native and University of Florida product was selected in the sixth round of the 2002 NFL draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. He’d go on to play eight seasons in the NFL, including one with the Panthers in 2007—where he appeared in all 16 games with a pair of starts.
His transition as a coach began three years after his final game, when he was hired as an assistant special teams coach for the Seattle Seahawks in 2012. After assuming roles as a defensive assistant and assistant secondary coach over the next two campaigns, he moved on to Atlanta—where he’d serve as the secondary coach between 2015 and 2016 and the defensive coordinator between 2017 and 2018.
Manuel then took up jobs as the defensive backs coach for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2020 and, most recently, as the safeties coach with the Jets beginning in 2021.
