Should the Minnesota Vikings consider replacing defensive coordinator Ed Donatell before the end of the 2022 regular season before he ruins their playoff chances?
When the Minnesota Vikings hired Ed Donatell to be their defensive coordinator this past offseason, the hope was that he would be able to help improve a defense that ranked 24th in the NFL points allowed in 2021.
At first, it seemed like Donatell’s “bend, but don’t break” approach was going to work for Minnesota’s defense. But during their last few games, the defense has been getting gashed by almost every opponent they’ve gone up against.
Sunday inside Ford Field was just the latest example, as the Detroit Lions racked up 464 total yards against the Vikings’ bad impression of an NFL defense. Minnesota has now allowed at least 400 yards to their last five opponents.
With only four weeks left in the regular season, the Vikings moving on from Donatell anytime soon probably isn’t very likely. But if Minnesota wants to make a change, they do have a few guys on their current coaching staff that have called plays for a defense in the past.
Who are some of the possible internal candidates to replace Donatell the Vikings might want to consider before their dreams for the upcoming playoffs are crushed?
Mike Pettine
- Current Role with Vikings: Assistant head coach
- Experience as a Defensive Coordinator: 8 years
Before joining Kevin O’Connell‘s staff as Minnesota’s assistant head coach this year, Mike Pettine most recently spent the 2018, 2019, and 2020 seasons as the defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers.
During the 2020 campaign, the Packers ranked 13th in the NFL in points allowed, ninth in yards allowed, 13th in rushing yards allowed, and seventh in passing yards allowed. Green Bay also ranked 10th in the league in sacks and 17th in expected points contributed in 2020.
Before he was hired by the Packers during the 2018 offseason, Pettine was the Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator in 2013 and the New York Jets defensive coordinator from 2009 to 2012. Along with the help of former Jets head coach Rex Ryan, Pettine helped turn New York into one of the best defenses in the league during his tenure with the franchise.
It’s possible that he might already have a role with how the Vikings’ current defense is working this season, but he is definitely a more than worthy candidate to replace Ed Donatell in the near future if that’s a route that the team decides to take.
Greg Manusky
- Current Role with Vikings: Inside linebackers coach
- Experience as a Defensive Coordinator: 12 years
Not only does Greg Manusky have more than a decade of experience as a defensive coordinator in the NFL, but he also spent part of his playing career in the league as a member of the Vikings.
From 1991 to 1993, Manusky was a linebacker for Minnesota. He appeared in a total of 43 games for the Vikings, but none of them were starts.
After his career on the field in the NFL came to an end 2000, he moved to the sidelines as a coach. His first opportunity to be a defensive coordinator took place in 2007 with the San Francisco 49ers.
Manusky wound up spending the next four seasons as the 49ers defensive coordinator, highlighted by the 2009 campaign in which his defense ranked fourth in the league in points allowed.
After parting with the 49ers, he spent 2011 as the San Diego Chargers defensive coordinator, 2012 to 2015 as the Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator, and 2017 to 2019 as the Washington Commanders defensive coordinator.
Like former Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer, Manusky was known for utilizing double A-gap packages to generate pressure. With there still being some holdovers from the Zimmer era on the Vikings’ roster, this might make an adjustment from Ed Donatell to Manusky less difficult.
Daronte Jones
- Current Role with Vikings: Defensive backs coach
- Experience as a Defensive Coordinator: 1 year
Daronte Jones is the guy with the least amount of defensive coordinator experience on this list and his lone year as a defensive coordinator actually took place at the college level.
After spending the 2020 campaign as the Vikings defensive backs coach, Jones left Minnesota in 2021 to become the defensive coordinator at LSU.
Under Jones, LSU ranked 70th in the nation in points allowed (out of 130), 80th in passing yards allowed, and 48th in rushing yards allowed.
So LSU clearly wasn’t a dominant defense with him leading the way, but he is at least familiar with what it takes to run an entire defense. At this point with Ed Donatell though, there aren’t many more qualifications a possible replacement might need in order to be considered for the role by the Vikings.