Broncos tap Bears assistant Ed Donatell for defensive coordinator job

In his first two stints with the Denver Broncos, Ed Donatell wore the title of defensive backs coach. This go around, it will be in the role of defensive coordinator.

First reported by 9News’ Mike Klis, the Broncos officially announced Tuesday evening that they had tapped the Chicago Bears assistant for the open coordinator job after meeting with him earlier in the day.

“Having worked very closely with him for a number of years, Ed has a strong understanding of the entire defense from the front end to the back end with the defensive backs being his specialty,” said new Broncos head coach Vic Fangio via a release.

“He’s a very good teacher and believes in the fundamentals in the classroom and on the field. We’re thrilled to add Ed to our coaching staff and welcome him back to the Broncos.”

“The Drive” co-host Alfred “Big Al” Williams said he liked the hire, calling Donatell a “good man” and a “smart guy” who is “great with the players” and “loves football.”

Williams played for the Broncos during Donatell’s first stretch in Denver, from 1995 to 1999, a period regarded as one of the best in the franchise’s history and featured two world championships in Super Bowl XXXII and Super Bowl XXXIII.

However, Donatell also witnessed one of the organization’s lowest points, when he served as the secondary coach for the 2010 season, which saw the team go 4-12 and head coach Josh McDaniels dismissed with four games left in the season.

Williams said he especially likes the Donatell hire because of his previous relationship with Fangio.

The two had been paired together for the past eight seasons in both Chicago and with the San Francisco 49ers. And with Fangio likely calling plays for the defense from the sideline for the first time in a long time, he’ll need someone he can trust up in the booth, Williams said.

“In my 19 years as a coordinator, I only was on the field once calling them. I like it better up in the box. There’s no denying that, for me personally,” Fangio told “Stokley and Zach” last week. “That’s why the preseason games will be good for me. But I’ll get it adjusted.”

From the booth, Donatell will be able to relay personnel groupings and other information to Fangio on the sidelines, Williams said.

Approaching his 40th year in coaching, Donatell has spent 27 seasons in the NFL with a handful of different organizations, including defensive coordinator roles with the Green Bay Packers from 2000 to 2003 and the Atlanta Falcons from 2004 to 2006. He also spent one season as the University of Washington defensive coordinator in 2008.

Donatell fills the role held the past two seasons by Joe Woods, who the 49ers will reportedly hire. Fellow Bears coach Brandon Staley will also join Donatell in Denver after being tapped to coach the team’s outside linebacker group.

As a defensive back’s coach, Donatell helped his units to top-seven rankings against the pass in each of the past seven seasons (217.4 yards per game on average). Twice, his teams have led the NFL in interceptions (2014 and 2018) during that span.

In 2018, the Bears secondary under Donatell featured two first-team All-Pro selections: cornerback Kyle Fuller and safety Eddie Jackson.

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.