As expected, the San Diego Chargers have filled the position vacated by Ron Rivera, new head coach of the Panthers. The new defensive coordinator will be former 49ers defensive coordinator Greg Manusky.
The team announced the move on Friday.
“I’m excited about adding Greg to our staff,” Turner said. “The combination of Greg and the current members of our defensive staff gives us as strong a staff as I’ve been around and will allow us to build on the good things we’ve done and help us get better.
“He brings energy and enthusiasm and he’ll be extremely demanding.”
Manusky described his approach in three words. (OK, five.)
“Hardcore. Relentless. Getting after people,” Manusky said. “[The Chargers] have in the past. Shoot, they were No. 1 last year and hopefully we’ll just pick up where we were last year.
“I’m going to bring some new ideas but also continue the foundation that they’ve already had and just build on it. I think with the players that we have, the sky’s the limit.”
Manusky generated relatively significant interest in the annual game of musical chairs that erupts as coaching staffs are reconfigured, even though the 49ers had no desire to keep him around. Indeed, the Niners skipped over Manusky entirely when naming an interim coach for the final game of the 2010 season.