Ed Donatell has emerged as the favorite to fill the Minnesota Vikings‘ defensive coordinator role, sources told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano.
A deal hasn’t been agreed upon yet, but the sides are working on it, the sources said.
The Vikings are expected to hire Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell as their new head coach after Super Bowl LVI, sources have told ESPN. With Donatell, O’Connell will have a coordinator with 31 years of NFL coaching experience leading his defense.
The Vikings are not permitted to announce O’Connell’s hiring until after the completion of the Super Bowl because his team is still playing.
It was expected that Donatell would be joining Pete Carroll’s staff with the Seattle Seahawks, but now Seattle is bracing for the possibility that he will join the Vikings.
The 65-year-old Donatell has 10 seasons worth of experience as an NFL defensive coordinator, including the past three on former Denver Broncos coach Vic Fangio’s staff. He also was the University of Washington’s defensive coordinator in 2008.
The Broncos’ defense finished eighth in the NFL in yards allowed (5,544) and third in points allowed (322) this season under Donatell.
In other news, the Vikings announced Wednesday they have hired former Indianapolis Colts general manager Ryan Grigson to a senior personnel position in their front office. Grigson had been working as a senior adviser in the Cleveland Browns‘ front office with Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, who was hired as the Vikings’ general manager last month.