Ed Donatell Out? Big Changes Are Likely Coming to the Vikings' Defense This Offseason
Ed Donatell believed this would be the week the Vikings' defense stepped up. At least that's what he told reporters.
"This is our time to shine," the veteran defensive coordinator said on Thursday. "I think you'll like the way we play."
Whether Donatell truly believed it would happen, thought his players needed a public vote of confidence, or was attempting to manifest a strong performance like Patrick Peterson predicting an interception, his comments backfired on him. Donatell's estimation did not even come close to becoming reality during the Vikings' disappointing home playoff loss against the Giants.
Kirk Cousins throwing short of the sticks on the game's decisive fourth down will be one of the lasting memories from this loss, but Cousins was far from the problem on Sunday. On the whole, he played quite well. The Vikings' biggest issue was that its defense, which struggled for the majority of the season, was abysmal once again. As the team heads into what should be a fascinating offseason, it's a safe bet that major changes are coming on that side of the ball.
"We'll have to take a long, hard look at every aspect of what we do to make sure we give ourselves the ability to continue to strive to compete at a championship level, and that's what we'll begin working on immediately," Kevin O'Connell said.
The Vikings finished 31st in the league in yards allowed this season, giving up 388.7 per game. They allowed over 400 yards nine times, including a franchise-worst five-game streak of opponents hitting that mark. So it was only fitting that their season ended with 431 yards surrendered to the Giants, three weeks after they gave up 445 to that very same offense.
This is a Giants offense, by the way, that ranked 18th in yards per game on the season. Two of their three highest yardage totals have come against the Vikings' defense. They have as many 400-yard games against Minnesota (two) as they have in 16 games against other teams.
The Vikings ranked 27th in defensive DVOA this season, a theoretically surprising number for a team with big-name players at all three levels. They salvaged their season to some extent by forcing turnovers and playing well on third down, but so many of the holes that were apparent all year reared their ugly head against the Giants.
Daniel Jones shredded the Vikings through the air again, throwing for 301 yards and two touchdowns three weeks after throwing for 334 in a narrow loss at U.S. Bank Stadium. To put that into context: outside of those two games and an explosion against the Lions (the only team who allowed more yards than the Vikings this season), Jones' season-high in passing yards was 228. He was held below 200 ten times, but the Vikings made him look like Josh Allen in both meetings.
"There was a lot on that field that we could've did better," linebacker Jordan Hicks said. "We just didn't do enough."
All season, the middle of the field was open far too often against the Vikings' defense, which was content to sit back in various zone looks. That was the case on Sunday. Jones had all kinds of simple throws on crossing routes, connecting with Isaiah Hodgins and Darius Slayton for a combined 12 catches, 193 yards, and a touchdown. If not for a rough drop by Slayton late in the fourth quarter, the Vikings' offense might not have touched the ball a final time.
Jones was rarely under pressure. And when he was, he was able to escape the pocket and pick up chunks as a scrambler, gaining 80 yards on 14 carries before sealing the victory with three kneel downs. The Vikings were also gashed by Saquon Barkley, who ran for 53 yards and two scores on nine carries and leaked out of the backfield for another 56 yards on five receptions.
"We talked about it throughout the week," O'Connell said. "We wanted to try to keep (Jones) in the pocket. We wanted to try to get a rush, change the game with some of our playmakers up there, but not let him get out and have an impact. He had an impact on some designed runs, as well, all of which does not break any news to us in that locker room or our coaching staff. They just happened to make those plays."
On several of the Giants' five scoring drives, things looked remarkably easy for Jones and their offense. They tied the game at seven with a five-play, 75-yard march on their opening possession, capped by a 28-yard Barkley touchdown scamper. When they got it back later in the first quarter, they went went 81 yards on just four plays to take the lead, the big play being a 47-yard Slayton reception after two Vikings defensive backs collided and fell down. They opened the second half with a six-play, 75-yard touchdown drive — including gains of 24 and 32 yards on consecutive plays — to extend their lead back to ten. None of those three full-field drives took more than 3:23 off the game clock.
"I think there were some issues with explosive, big plays," O'Connell said. "They schematically did some things to maybe take advantage of some things we were doing, but across the board, we're going to take a look at everything. That's my job. I'm responsible for all three phases of our football team, and we'll definitely take a deep dive into it."
At other times, the Vikings simply couldn't get off the field. In the second quarter, they allowed the Giants to go on a 20-play, 85-yard drive that drained nearly 11 minutes from the clock. It featured four third-down conversions and numerous Jones scrambles that either moved the chains or set up a manageable third down. New York had to settle for a field goal at the end of it, but an 11-minute possession is an 11-minute possession. Then, with the game tied at 24 in the fourth quarter, the Giants ripped off a 12-play, 75-yard drive, capped by Barkley's second touchdown of the day.
The Vikings' defense looked old, slow, and poorly coached. They couldn't stop the pass and they couldn't stop the run. They didn't force any takeaways. Everything was easy for the Giants, from start to finish. There was no resistance.
Changes are undoubtedly coming; the only unknown is how significant they'll be. As the coordinator, Donatell has taken most of the heat from fans for the unit's struggles this season. The scheme he installed this year didn't work, and there didn't appear to be many adjustments. It was a stubborn defense that often looked unprepared and didn't seem to put its players in positions to succeed. That falls on coaching.
O'Connell supported Donatell in his postgame press conference, but it would not be surprising at all to see the 65-year-old coordinator relieved of his duties in the coming days. There would be some intriguing coaches out there that GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah could target as potential replacements.
"I think Ed tried to do the best he could this year across the board, installing the defense and the scheme that we had kind of manifested together and hoped that it would come to life," O'Connell said. "He worked his absolute tail off and his commitment to trying to make some adjustments and improve was there, each and every week, all season long."
"I'm going to look at every aspect, special teams, offense, defense, personnel, with Kwesi, all across the board how we can improve schematically. All those things are for really a different time and different conversations once we've had a chance to kind of collect ourselves and evaluate what took place this year."
In fairness to Donatell, there's also an argument to be made that the Vikings' defensive issues were more about personnel than scheme. Versions of the defense the Vikings ran this year have been highly successful in other places, including at Donatell's previous stops. Could it be that the players weren't good enough?
Harrison Smith, Peterson, Za'Darius Smith, Eric Kendricks, and Hicks are all on the wrong side of 30. Smith (the safety) and Kendricks, in particular, looked like lesser versions of their former All-Pro selves in this game and at other times throughout the season. The Vikings have decisions to make on those two franchise mainstays (and Adam Thielen on offense), given their cap hits next season. Peterson, Dalvin Tomlinson, and Chandon Sullivan will be free agents. It's hard to imagine that any starters on this defense will absolutely, 100 percent be back next year after such a disastrous season.
New players will be brought in. The draft might once again have a defensive focus for the Vikings, who seemingly need to get younger and faster on that side of the ball. It didn't help that their 2022 rookie class (Lewis Cine, Andrew Booth Jr., Brian Asamoah, Akayleb Evans) dealt with all kinds of injuries, including season-enders for all three DBs.
It'll be quite the interesting offseason in Minnesota. The Vikings need to make a decision on Donatell and then go from there.
"An entire part of what this job is all about is being critical, having the ability to evaluate your football team and what the intent was, and then being able to make adjustments to try to better what you are as a team," O'Connell said. "That's what I'll do starting tomorrow."
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