Ed Donatell Emerges as Favorite to Land Vikings' Defensive Coordinator Job

The former Broncos defensive coordinator has over three decades of experience coaching in the NFL.

Move aside, Aubrey Pleasant, Anthony Weaver, and Sean Desai. A new frontrunner has emerged in the Vikings' defensive coordinator search. Former Broncos DC Ed Donatell is now the favorite to land the job, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

Donatell was reportedly heading to the Seahawks as a defensive assistant five days ago, but that was never made official. Now it appears that he's preparing to become the Vikings' DC on new head coach Kevin O'Connell's staff.

Pleasant, Weaver, and Desai are all strong candidates, but they're also all 35-41 years old. It always seemed to make sense for the Vikings to bring in an older, experienced defensive coordinator to pair with O'Connell, and Donatell is exactly that. The 65-year-old has been coaching football since 1979 and has been on NFL coaching staffs since 1990. He's been all over the place, including DC stints with the Packers (2000-03), Falcons (2004-06), Washington (2008), and Broncos (2019-21). 

Donatell has worked with Vic Fangio for the past decade-plus. The two began coaching together on Jim Harbaugh's 49ers in 2011, with Fangio as the DC and Donatell as the defensive backs coach. It's worth noting that Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah joined the 49ers in 2013, so he's familiar with Donatell. Both Donatell and Fangio were hired in the same roles by John Fox and the Bears in 2015. When Fangio became the Broncos' head coach in 2019, he brought Donatell along as his defensive coordinator. The two have led some very strong defenses over the past 11 seasons.

Donatell's background is in coaching DBs. After coaching in the college ranks in the 1980s, he was a DBs coach for the Jets and Broncos in the '90s. Donatell spent most of the 2000s as a DC, but had another stint as the Broncos' secondary coach in 2009-10 before linking up with Fangio.

This would be a strong hire for O'Connell and the Vikings, if it comes to fruition. Donatell has tons of experience, meaning he's worked with all kinds of different players, coaches, and schemes. He's an outstanding defensive mind who would bring Fangio's 3-4 defense and a deep knowledge of DB play to Minnesota.

We'll see if this move becomes official in the coming days.

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