Brian Daboll’s plan to fix Deonte Banks and the Giants’ secondary proceeded Wednesday with the hiring of Jets safeties coach Marquand Manuel.
Manuel, 45, a former Falcons defensive coordinator (2017-18), is replacing former Atlanta colleague Jerome Henderson as the Giants’ new defensive backs coach, according to ESPN.
His primary task will be to get through to Banks, 23, Joe Schoen’s’ 2023 first-round pick whose effort and effectiveness tailed off dramatically in coordinator Shane Bowen’s first season running a heavier zone scheme.
Henderson held Banks accountable and coached him hard, but Daboll did not.
Manuel’s impact on Giants second-year safety Tyler Nubin, however, will be just as critical as his work with Banks. Manuel played safety during his eight seasons in the NFL (2002-2009), and Nubin did not have a strong rookie season.
The second-round pick out of Minnesota made 98 tackles with a forced fumble and fumble recovery, but he did not record a single interception and often took bad angles to the ball and got lost in space.
The Giants fired both Henderson and safeties coach Mike Treier after the season, but there were other voices around the secondary, including assistant secondary coach Mike Adams and former Northwestern associate head coach Matt MacPherson.
The team says MacPherson, whom the Giants never announced as an addition on their staff, was an unpaid consultant who reported to the building three days a week and only charted plays.
But MacPherson — a former DePauw college teammate of Schoen’s who was fired by Northwestern after allegedly witnessing player hazing — was on the practice field frequently after joining the Giants in training camp as another cook in a crowded kitchen.
So Manuel will need some quality control on who is around his players.
Schoen’s job is to add a No. 1 corner to the roster as Banks hopefully blossoms into at least a strong No. 2, which he showed signs of being during his 2023 rookie season under former coordinator Wink Martindale.
The team is also short on safety talent after Schoen let first-team All-Pro Xavier McKinney walk to the Green Bay Packers last offseason.
Giants starter Jason Pinnock was cut while playing under Manuel for the Jets in 2021. He is now a free agent and is not expected to return to New York.
The Jets’ defense only recorded seven interceptions last season to the Giants’ measly five. But if Schoen can give Manuel more players and the coach can impact the team’s existing young talent, maybe the Giants defense can get back to playmaking on the back end.
Like when they tied for the NFL lead in takeaways (31) and tied for second in the league in interceptions (18) in 2023 under Martindale.
Manuel’s connection to some former Jets DBs might impact the Giants’ free agency intentions, although he would be competing with former Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich, who just took the Falcons’ defensive coordinator job.
Jets corners D.J. Reed, Isaiah Oliver and Brandin Echols, and safeties Chuck Clark and Ashtyn Davis, are all unrestricted free agents. And Tony Adams is a restricted free agent.
Oliver, 28, played for Manuel in Atlanta and then joined him last season with the Jets. So there is a strong connection there.
Manuel’s connections to his players, though, will only matter as much as the quality of them.
BOOGIE DOWN
Giants defensive lineman Boogie Basham, acquired by Schoen in an Aug. 2023 trade from the Buffalo Bills, has signed a futures contract with the Carolina Panthers. Basham, 27, finishes his Giants career with 20 tackles and no sacks in 280 defensive snaps across 17 regular season games. His neutral zone infraction on an Eagles 4th and 3 in Week 18 led to a Philly field goal and helped seal a 20-13 Giants loss that dropped them to 3-14 on the season and secured the No. 3 overall pick.
HODGINS UPGRADES
Giants wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins signed a futures contract immediately after the season ended with the San Francisco 49ers. Hodgins, 26, despite being a seemingly successful Schoen claim in 2022, is one of several Giants players whose contributions to that season’s playoff berth and Wild Card victory went underappreciated in New York. Hodgins caught five touchdown passes from Daniel Jones in a six-game span down the stretch of that season, including eight receptions for 105 yards and a touchdown in their road playoff win at Minnesota. That victory still marks the Giants’ only postseason win since 2011. But Hodgins started fading out of the game plan during the 2023 season and then was shoved off the grid to the practice squad for the bulk of this past year.