Though Kevin O'Connell can't officially be hired as the Vikings' next head coach until after the Super Bowl, the team will have his defensive coordinator in place when he starts next week.
The team is hiring Ed Donatell as its next defensive coordinator, a league source told the Star Tribune on Thursday. Donatell, who'd spent the past three seasons as Vic Fangio's defensive coordinator in Denver, had agreed to a job as a senior defensive assistant with the Seahawks until the Vikings showed interest in hiring him to run their defense.
Donatell, who turned 65 earlier this month, will be a defensive coordinator for the fourth time in his career, having worked for the Packers and Falcons in the early 2000s before spending the past two years with Fangio.