Las Vegas Raiders Cornerbacks Coach Ricky Manning

HENDERSON, Nev.--The Las Vegas Raiders are experiencing an offseaon in which the entire franchise is engulfed in optimism, as Mark Davis has set the sail of the ship in one direction, led by GM Tom Telesco, and ultimately Coach Antonio Pierce.

That optimism set the groundwork for something special in 2024, and that sense of optimism is prevalent everywhere in the organization.

Las Vegas Raiders Cornerbacks Coach Ricky Manning spoke after OTAs, and we have everything he said for you.

You can watch the entire press conference below and read the transcript:

Cornerbacks Coach Ricky Manning Jr.

Q: When you look at the personalities in the cornerback room, you got a little bit of everything with Nate Hobbs and Jack Jones and Jakorian Bennett. How is that unit coming together, and can you talk about all those different personalities? Coach Manning Jr.: “You can go ahead and say it, we are hot messes in the corner room. You know, we just hot heads, we think we the best and we smooth. It’s okay, it’s what we are, right. It's great. We having fun with it, right. Different personalities, but really, they are all in the same kind of game plan, right? Just trying to be great. There are guys that are more quiet/reserved, and there’s guys that are more outspoken. We welcome it all and we embrace it all, and I think our room is a good fit. We should gel well together.”

Q: How has the competition gone and is it higher than you thought even now in OTAs? Coach Manning Jr.: “Yeah because I didn't even know the guys as much. Some of them I hadn’t seen until I got here for the most part. But yeah, definitely better than I expected. I didn't have no expectations, so I didn't know what to expect. I remember JB [Jakorian Bennett) more than any of them, but it's been going great. Guys are tuned in, they’re competing, they’re ready. We have a rep chart in our room, not a depth chart. We got to earn it, we got to earn a right to be on the depth chart. So, I'm moving guys around, guys at one and two, left side, right side. Just really diving into developing the guys and as we develop, we’re competing as well.”

Q: What has this opportunity been like just for you coaching with the Raiders being a Fresno guy? Coach Manning Jr.: “It's awesome, man. It's great to be back on the West Coast and closer to my family. My family for the last two years was in California while I was in New York coaching. So, being able to go home every weekend and be more involved with things and give my wife a little bit of a break has been great. I grew up a Raider fan. Got my first hand-me-down starter jacket from one of my big cousins, and ever since then I was a Raider. Obviously, that changed when I got drafted by Carolina, but always had love for the Silver and Black. Always had a love for the guys that played here. Nnamdi Asomugha was a good friend of mine. We came out the same year and took some of our recruiting trips together. So, to be back here, to be here in this legendary organization while AP [Antonio Pierce] is doing his thing, it's awesome. It's a blessing for sure.”

Q: How cool was it to go from your experience as a player with Raiders and now as a coach? And what are some of the differences you've noticed within the organization? Coach Manning Jr.: “Oh, it's been awesome just over the last couple of years being a coach now. One of the biggest things I'm experiencing here, and even in New York, is the amount of knowledge that I'm surrounded by and the great coaches I'm surrounded by. In New York, it was great, with [Jeff] Ulbrich, Tony Oden, Marquand [Manuel], Robert Saleh. I was thinking, okay, it can’t get no better than that, then I come here and Patrick Graham and GA [Gerald Alexander], Mike Caldwell. I’m surrounded by guys that have coached in this league and are great dudes. So, that right there, just being around it, I’m like ‘Oh, man, this is awesome right here.’ I’m learning something every day.”

Q: You mentioned Jakorian Bennett, who had some ups and downslastseason. Having that perspective of it and not getting down or too high, how important is that in terms of his development? And what have you seen from him so far?? Coach Manning Jr.: “I think the most important thing for him now is he's not under fire. You know, being a rookie and you’re thrown out there – I've been in that same situation. You are under fire and you’re still learning as you're going. Now, he has a way higher understanding of the defense, of Coach [Patrick] Graham and how he calls it, and of the game. So, it’s a little bit slowed down for him now, so now he can really work on that development, and he can really get better at the things he needs to focus on. And he's doing that, he's continuing to work. Is he ready? Heck yeah. We still got time to go though, we still got time to prepare. And every day we're trying to get better. Each and every guy in that room, no matter where they at, and he's part of that too.”

Q: You mentioned that it slows down for him and then there's other guyslike Decamerion [Richardson] and MJ [Devonshire] that are in the fire like you just talked about. How does that change how you coach and teach knowing that you got guys that understand it and they've done it for quite a period of time, and then the guys that are just learning? Coach Manning Jr.: “Well, the great thing about having a head coach that is a former player, is he understands that. So, how our schedule is, it sets it up time to be with the rookies a little bit more than we are with the vets to slow it down for them and explain to them a little bit further. We have ample time, more time than I've ever had with rookies in my years of coaching. So, that way right there allows us to kind of get to them where I know it may be fast for them and it may be a lot of things. And that way they can get the game plan a little bit slower and different.”

Q: What are your early impressions of Jack Jones so far? Coach Manning Jr.: “Jack, man. Jack’s a character. Love it. It's funny because my wife and I always discuss this, he kind of looks like Nick Cannon to me. Everybody loves Nick Cannon, right? Jack Jones, everybody loves him. He’s a good character guy, he's hungry. But also, he believes in second chances and being able to be here and have people that care about you. So, I think it's going to be a big year for him because of those things. We’re still working, we’re still going, we’re still grinding. That dude has some stuff in his legs that you just don't see. I’m watching drills and I’m like, ‘He covered those five yards in like two steps,’ so he got some explosion stuff. He's a ball guy, which I love. I love guys that take away the ball. He can really do some special things. Once he locks in and he focuses, that dude can be pretty good.”

Q: How would you compare Jack Jones’ swag to Sauce Gardner’s? Coach Manning Jr.: “Different. Way different. Sauce is unique in how he does things. Also, he’s six-foot[1]three, so their swag is going to already be different, literally different. But some of the same stuff as the confident corners are in this league. I want those guys to believe that they’re the baddest in the world, right? And those two believe that, and they’ll let you know. And that's just a start, so now you got to go out there and do it each and every day.”

Q: Nate Hobbs is a guy that has played all over the field in his time with the Raiders. How invaluable is that to have kind of a chess piece out there at cornerback? Coach Manning Jr.: “Nate is the key that unlocks our defense. That nickel spot is very special, that star spot is very special. And being able to play inside and outside is a unique characteristic to have. Just like Michael Carter with the Jets last year, a pivotal piece of that defense. That's what Nate Hobbs is, that's what the star position has become. He's the key to unlock our defense and he's great at it. He can continue to ascend, and with his growth, our defense grows. Our defense grows and it allows PG, our coordinator, to call certain things because he can trust that Nate can get it done and get it communicated to everybody and we can work well together.”

Q: Last year, Jakorian started week one as a starter and then got hurt and kind of lost his spot. I don’t know if you had that experience in your playing career, but what kind of helps as a cornerback to work your way back up from something like that? Coach Manning Jr.: “Work. Just keep grinding. I tell those guys, in your situations, there are going to be times it doesn’t look the way you want it to look. What are you going to do about it? What's going to be your response? How you respond is everything. You got to go out there and grind. Sometimes the thing in between your ears, your mind, messes you up, right? Don't worry about that. Forget the outside noise, forget the inside noise, and just go to work. If you can get better just a little bit each and every day, then you're going to be alright.”

Q: Can never forget you having those three interceptionsin the NFC title game against the Eagles. I think it’s still the record. Do moments like that, not just being a former player but literally still having your name in the record books, hold cachet with players and gets them to listen even more? Coach Manning Jr.: “There was so long ago. It was a long time ago, but we have fun, and like I said, I'm surrounded by a great, great coaching staff, and they bring it up and it’ll be some fun time where we show different guys taking away the ball. It does. It's crazy because as a player I thought that that's what I was destined for, picking off Donovan McNabb three times in the NFC championship. That was my destiny, but really what it was for was this moment right now, for me to have to wait to be able to talk about big time situations and big games and showing up big. And not just talking it, but living it, helps with that message. So, this is what it’s for, this intended purpose right now, me as a coach, giving back to the game that gave so much to me.”

Q: That being said, from your experiences, how much benefit is there to have as many coaches that played the game on the staff as well? Coach Manning Jr.: “One, it’s the energy. The energy is different. You know, it's just different when you got guys that got blood, sweat and tears in this thing, and you can feel that. I can't help it, you know, and we have fun with it too. So immature, it's hilarious. That’s how immature we are. It's the same thing with New York. We were so immature, but it's because we are former players who are just having fun and it just helped the business side of it, the football side of it. It be so much better, such a fun experience, and it's just so natural. So, I think that's the benefit of having a bunch of guys that played the game and also coached it at a high level and have been around some great coaches. These players get to benefit from that, and we get to benefit from it as coaches as well.

Q: What new passing trends are you preparing for in 2024? Coach Manning Jr.: “I'm just preparing for getting out of breaks right now. We ain't talking about the passing trends yet. We're looking at some of the stuff, some of the main categories. But right now, we’re worried about us. How can we get us right? If we’re right, then we're going to be okay, but right now we’re just focusing on us. And obviously some of the main stuff will go through, but I ain’t letting that out of the bag.”

Q: It felt like this defense maybe flew under the radar a little bit nationally. And I'm sure when you got the job, you took a look at a deep dive into the season. What did you see about last year's defense? Obviously last year is last year, but at least something to build on in terms of why this defense turned out to be as good as it was?? Coach Manning Jr.: “If we fly under the radar, perfect. That's exactly where I want us to be. Nobody talking about us, perfect. Cool. We got to show up every day and we got to show what we can be. And that's it, that's what the defense did last year. They showed up. When AP took over, they bought in and just the sense of urgency toward the end of that season to make it happen. Was it perfect? No. But there's some good things that we can use as momentum going into this offseason. Guys have trust and belief that they can, and that's a huge part of it, believing in yourself. And trust comes from seeing and doing.”

Q: Brandon Facyson is another guy who kind of struggled to stay on the field last year. What have you seen from him health-wise and how is he adjusting so far? Coach Manning Jr.: “Love the way the guy shows up every day. He is a pro. The way he works, the way he shows up to work, the way he studies, his detail, his effort and intensity to get better, it's been showing up every day. He's been very consistent. He's been healthy. And that guy being healthy is going to be good for us. He's going to be a big part of his defense and we're looking forward to it. Looking forward to him just continuing to grow and ascend.”

Q: What are the non-negotiables to have a great defense and the traits you're looking for in a great defense? Coach Manning Jr.: “Toughness, mentally and physically. That’s non-negotiable, you got to be tough in this league. You got to be able to fight through injuries, you got to be able to fight through losses, got to be able to fight through giving up a play or two. Toughness is essential to being a corner for sure, but to being a defensive player, period. And then you got to be smart, right? You got to be smart, football intelligence. The offense leaves clues, success leaves clues. You got to be able to find those clues and it doesn’t start in the field on Sunday. It's in the classroom on Tuesday, on Monday, on those days. So, you got to be smart, and you got to be a student of the game, and that'll allow you a chance to be successful.”

Q: Does it change the way that you coach or teach at all knowing that you expect the defensive line to be very impressive in getting to the quarterback very quickly, does it change the philosophy of the cornerback room? Coach Manning Jr.: “No. We go after them all day long. Defensive line, I appreciate you, but we got to do our job.

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