On January 19, the Minnesota Vikings released a statement announcing that they had relieved former defensive coordinator Ed Donatell of his duties.
Today I informed Ed Donatell we will be going in a different direction at defensive coordinator in 2023…. I want to thank Ed for his commitment to the Vikings this past season, for the positive impact he had on our players and coaches, and for his role in helping me as a first-year head coach lay this foundation… We will immediately begin our search to fill this critical role as we continue to build a championship standard for the Minnesota Vikings.
The Vikings released that statement four days after the New York Giants had eliminated them from the playoffs. Daniel Jones finished that game 24/35 for 301 yards and cashed in on a $40 million contract after the Giants opted not to pick up his fifth-year option. Jones wasn’t the only mediocre quarterback to have a big day against Donatell’s unit. Mike White threw for 369 yards in the New York Jets game; Mac Jones had 382 for the New England Patriots.
Brian Flores is a championship-caliber defensive coordinator; every team would take his defense over Donatell’s. But the crazy thing about Donatell’s defense is that it did enough to win. Aside from four regular-season games, all of which Minnesota’s opponents were favored and won by multiple scores, the Vikings left the field as winners. O’Connell’s offense occasionally showed up in crucial spots, but Donatell’s unit bent but didn’t break until late in the season.
There are a few games the defense didn’t have a hand in late.
- Weeks 1 and 18: The Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears to start and end the season.
- Week 4: Minnesota’s defense gave up a 32-yard pass on the first play of the New Orleans Saints’ final drive. But Wil Lutz missed a 61-yard field goal that would have tied the London game.
- Week 6: Teddy Bridgewater connected with Mike Gesicki for a late touchdown in Week 6. But the Vikings recovered the onside kick to escape Miami with a win.
- Week 9: The Vikings scored on their final three possessions to escape DC with a win.
- Week 15: You could see Minnesota’s 33-point comeback over the Indianapolis Colts either way. The defense held Indianapolis to three points in the second half, but the offense scored 39 points in the final 30 minutes and overtime to pull off the upset.
- Week 16: The Giants went on a seven-play, 75-yard drive to tie the Christmas Eve game last year. But Greg Joseph hit a 61-yard field goal as time expired to win the regular-season game against New York.
Otherwise, Donatell’s defense came through when the Vikings needed them most.
- Week 3: Kirk Cousins hit K.J. Osborn for the go-ahead touchdown with 45 seconds left against the Detroit Lions, Minnesota’s first lead of the game. Josh Metellus picked off Jared Goff on the next possession to seal the game.
- Week 5: The Vikings relinquished a 21-10 lead to Chicago, who made it 22-21 with less than 10 minutes to go. But Minnesota scored a touchdown on a 17-play drive, and Cameron Dantzler recovered old friend Ihmir Smith-Marsette’s fumble to seal the game.
- Week 8: Minnesota’s defense had an interception, forced a turnover on downs, and sacked Kyler Murray as time expired to beat the Arizona Cardinals 34-26.
- Week 10: Eric Kendricks forced a fumble return touchdown to put the Vikings ahead 30-27 late in the Buffalo Bills game. Then Patrick Peterson picked off Josh Allen in overtime to seal the win.
- Week 12: The Vikings forced a turnover on downs late against the Patriots and kept them out of the end zone on their final drive to win on a short week after the Dallas Cowboys blew them out.
- Week 13: Minnesota turned the Jets over on downs, and Camryn Bynum picked White to salvage an otherwise poor defensive effort.
Donatell’s defense broke in that Jets game, but they made crucial plays in Minnesota’s 13-4 season last year. That’s especially relevant given how Flores’ otherwise stout has faltered during vital moments in three of the past four games.
- Week 11: Russell Wilson threw over Mekhi Blackmon to hit Courtland Sutton for the go-ahead score in Denver. That was the Denver Broncos’ only touchdown in that game.
- Week 12: Justin Fields hit D.J. Moore on third-and-10 for 36 yards on a backside dig route to set up Chicago’s game-winning field goal.
- Week 14: Old friend Jake Browning hit Tyler Boyd on third-and-nine for 44 yards on a backside dig route to set up the Cincinnati Bengals’ game-winning field goal.
Flores has gotten the most out of his players, so this isn’t an indictment on his coaching. But the Vikings continue to play close games like last season but have had less success. After going 11-1 in one-score games last year, they are 6-7 in such games this season.
O’Connell often talks about the Vikings being situational masters and being at your best when your best is required. However, they’ve had mixed results through 15 weeks. Whether they can improve in those areas will determine whether their season will end better than it did last season. Donatell helped O’Connell lay a foundation last year, and Flores is running an innovative defense. But the Vikings haven’t played to a championship standard this season. They have three weeks to change that.
