Donatell, Fangio worked wonders together with 49ers, Bears
Steve Atwater felt so confident when preparing for Super Bowl XXXII that the former Broncos safety told his position coach late in the week, “We’ve seen enough film. We’ve got it. It’s all in the can, man.”
Ed Donatell agreed. He turned off the tape of the Packers and turned up the Denver focus. It’s a microcosm of player-coach trust that propelled the Broncos to their first Vince Lombardi Trophy soon after.
“Everything played out on the field like we had studied,” Atwater said. “It happened just like that.”
Twenty years after the Broncos’ back-to-back championships, the man once in charge of their vaunted secondary has returned. New head coach Vic Fangio hired Donatell as his defensive coordinator last month, marking his third stint on the staff after previously coaching Denver’s secondary from 1995-99 and 2009-10.
“It’s just the same,” Donatell said. “You can feel the tradition and you can feel the expectation.”
Fangio will call defensive plays next season, but don’t marginalize Donatell’s role. The pair worked wonders together with San Francisco (2011-14) and Chicago (201518), utilizing Fangio’s expertise coaching linebackers and Donatell’s experience at the back end. The 49ers and Bears combined for 20 defensive Pro Bowl selections through their previous eight seasons together.
“We’ve started meetings with the other defensive coaches installing our defense from ground zero,” Fangio said. “(Donatell) is in there with me, and he already knows everything and knows the evolution of it. It’s very helpful to the new guys that aren’t used to this defense for us to put it in.”
Donatell’s teaching ability was