Earlier this week, the Colts tried to hire Steelers linebackers coach Kevin Butler as their new defensive coordinator. For my money, Butler used this interest to leverage the Steelers into a new contract, which he got. This left Indianapolis sort of looking stood-up.
Today, we got word, via Alex Marvez of FOX Sports, that the Colts have hired Greg Manusky as their new DC.
To give you an idea of just how bad of a hire this is, Manusky coordinated the Chargers defense last season. He replaced Ron Rivera, who left San Diego to become the head coach in Carolina. The Chargers finished 2012 ranked 22nd in points allowed (23 per game). The year prior, under Rivera's coaching, they were ranked 10th. The year before that, 11th. Manusky was fired after just one season on the job in San Diego.
Interesting note: Mansuky's replacement as DC in San Diego is Colts head coach Chuck Pagano's brother, John.
Before the San Diego gig, Manusky was the defensive coordinator in San Francisco. From 2007-2010, his defenses ranked 20th, 23rd, 4th, and 16th. That 4th ranking was in 2009 was for an 8-8 season. Manusky was fired after the 2010 season, and the man who replaced him, Vic Fangio, took the same group of players to a 4th overall ranking in 2011 along with a trip to the NFC Championship Game. The 49ers never made the playoffs while Manusky coached their defense.
In short, the Colts hired an underachieving coordinator who has been fired twice before, and the reason they hired him is because they guy they wanted didn't want them. In fact, I'd argue that the guy San Diego replaced Manusky with (John Pagano) is also someone else Chuck Pagano would have preferred over Manusky.
Basically, Manusky the the date Pagano is forced to go to the prom with because all the other hot ones were taken.
I was happy with the Bruce Arians hiring as the new OC, but Manusky strikes me as a dud hire. I hope he turns things around in Indianapolis, but his track record doesn't look good.
Also worth noting, Manusky is a 3-4 guy, through and through. The Tampa-2 is now officially DEAD in Indianapolis.