Marquand Alexander Manuel (born July 11, 1979) is an American football coach and former safety who is the safeties coach for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the defensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons and as an assistant coach for the Seattle Seahawks. After playing college football for the University of Florida, he was selected in the sixth round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played for eight seasons in the NFL for the Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers, Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, and Detroit Lions. He was the defensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons from 2017 to 2018. Playing career Early years Manuel was born in Miami, Florida in 1979. He attended Miami Senior High School, and he played high school football for the Miami High Stingarees. As a senior safety in 1996, Manuel was a Florida Class 6A all-state selection who made ninety-six tackles, nine interceptions and eight blocked passes. He received high school All-America recognition from National Recruiting Advisor, PrepStar and SuperPrep, and was rated among the top defensive back prospects in the country. Manuel was also a four-year honor roll student, and ran the 100-meter dash in 10.6 seconds for the Miami Stingarees track team. Manuel accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Steve Spurrier's Florida Gators football team from 1998 to 2001. The Gators coaching staff decided to red-shirt him as a true freshman in 1997, but he played in all eleven regular season games in 1998. As a sophomore in 1999, he totaled 118 tackles, three interceptions, two sacks, one forced fumble and four passes defensed as a sophomore. He started two games at outside linebacker, in addition to seeing significant action at safety, and led the team in tackles. As a junior in 2000, Manuel served as a key leader on Florida's 10–2 Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship team that earned a berth in the Sugar Bowl. As a senior team captain in 2001, he helped lead the Gators to a 10–2 record, a 56–23 victory over the Maryland Terrapins in the Orange Bowl, and a final No. 3 ranking in both major polls. He played in forty-six games during his collegiate career, and totaled 308 tackles, eight quarterback sacks, nine tackles for a loss, six fumble recoveries, twenty-two passes defensed and six interceptions. Manuel