DENVER — Vic Fangio continues to lean on experience and familiarity as he assembles his first Broncos coach staff.
As expected, the Broncos coach named Ed Donatell as his defensive coordinator on Tuesday. An answer could crystallize on offensive coordinator candidate Rich Scangarello on Wednesday morning. Like Donatell, Scangarello interviewed Tuesday. While Donatell was an easy hire given his resume and connection to Fangio, Scangarello needs to convince the Broncos he is ready to call plays at the NFL level. He's only served as an offensive coordinator in college at UC Davis, Northern Arizona and Wagner. His NFL experience includes stops in Oakland, Atlanta and San Francisco, where is the 49ers quarterbacks coach.
Donatell has worked with Fangio for the last eight seasons in San Francisco and Chicago. Donatell will serve as the eyes in the sky for Fangio, who will run the defense. It is, after all, why he was hired after Chicago led the league in every meaningful category.
"Ed’s been an integral part of top-10 defenses for six of the last eight seasons in two different places, and he’s a great fit to be our defensive coordinator. 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," Fangio said. "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.”
This represents Donatell's third stint with the Broncos. He knows what expectations exist after serving as Denver's defensive backs coach from 1995 to 1999 when the Broncos won back-to-back Super Bowls. He rejoined Denver in 2009, coaching a secondary that boasted future Hall of Famer cornerback Champ Bailey and Hall of Fame safety Brian Dawkins.
If Scangarello is not named on Wednesday, the Broncos could expand their search. However, he remains the frontrunner until another candidate emerges.
