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Ed Donatell Has Been FIRED

Christopher Bagdonas / NFL / January 19, 2023

Ed Donatell Has Been FIRED

Ed Donatell is out! The Vikings defensive coordinator has been fired by the team following their Wild Card loss to the New York Giants. It should hardly be seen a surprise considering that they let New York, who averaged 21.5 points per game in the regular season, hand them 31 in the playoffs. Check out the full statement from Minnesota head coach Kevin O’Connell:

Vikings fired their defensive coordinator Ed Donatell. pic.twitter.com/cKj9jQsZDe
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 19, 2023

It’s quite the conundrum. There’s a lot of big names on this defense. Za’Darius Smith had a great bounceback year with 10 sacks and a Pro Bowl nod. Harrison Smith, Eric Kendricks, Patrick Peterson, and Danielle Hunter have also made it to at least one Pro Bowl. There is talent. So how did Donatell guide them to a bottom-five defense? They gave up 25.1 points per game, good for 28th overall. That was more than the 24.9 points per game they scored in 2022.

But Wait, There’s More

People quickly saw through this team. They were not built for the playoffs. Their 11-0 record in one score games is largely thanks to Justin Jefferson. When the Giants, quickly becoming one of the best coached teams in the NFL, came into town, upset bids flew in. However, that wasn’t even the worst of it. The Giants racked up 431 yards of offense and punted only twice. Barkley picked up over 100 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. However, this is the piece de resistance:

Daniel Jones is now the first QB in NFL postseason history with 300+ pass yds, 2+ pass TD & 70+ rush yds in a playoff game.#TogetherBlue @Giants https://t.co/s2NCZdhJm7
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) January 16, 2023

They made Daniel Jones look like prime Dan Marino. This right here should be grounds for firing. I can tell you as a Giants fan that I love Danny Dimes. But at best, he is a top-half starting quarterback in the NFL. He obviously stepped his game up when it mattered, but this is also an indictment on Ed Donatell. They could not defend a crossing route to save their lives on Sunday. Jones was dialed in and took what the defense gave him. Which happened to be a whole lot.

Ed Donatell was certainly one of the most obvious coordinators to be on the chopping block this year. If I’m a Vikings fan, I need answers. The Giants struck gold with Wink Martindale. Who is their guy gonna be? Things could actually be looking up in Minny if they get rid of Kirk Cousins and find a competent defensive coordinator. But both of those things are far from guaranteed.