Brandon Staley, who spent the last two seasons as the Bears’ outside linebackers coach, is following his former boss to do the same thing in Denver.
Staley was named to Vic Fangio’s Broncos staff on Tuesday. The move had been expected; Staley, who interviewed with the team on Monday, worked closely with Fangio, who himself specialized in outside linebackers, the last two seasons .
Staley might soon have company in Colorado. Defensive backs coach Ed Donatell’s contract has expired, and he could end up as the Broncos’ defensive coordinator. He interviewed Tuesday, per KUSA-TV. Fangio, the former Bears defensive coordinator, will call plays next season. Donatell has coached under Fangio at their previous two stops: the 49ers and Bears.
Bears general manager Ryan Pace acknowledged Monday that Donatell, who the Bears interviewed for their own defensive coordinator vacancy last week before hiring Chuck Pagano, had options.
“He has a decision to make … ” Pace said. ”I have a ton of respect for him and it’s mutual between both of us. We’re working through that.”
Last week, Fangio told NFL Network that “there are some coaches in Chicago that I would like to have on any staff I’m on.”
Bears coach Matt Nagy said the Bears would be patient with filling any vacancies.
’What we need to do is just, again, everybody work together, talk, use resources and try to figure out … We don’t need to rush into decisions,” he said. “That’s the beauty of where we’re at right now. So make sure we do it the way we feel is best for the team and take our time with whatever we need to do. But we’re working through all that.”
