49ers block Ed Donatell from DC interview with New Orleans Saints

Although the 49ers have had a great deal of success the last two seasons, they have been fortunate to retain most of their coaching staff each season. It is looking like that will remain the case for another season. Ian Rapoport is reporting the 49ers have blocked the New Orleans Saints from interviewing secondary coach Ed Donatell for their defensive coordinator job. I believe teams cannot block assistants from interviewing for head coaching jobs, but they can block for coordinator positions.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers inquired about Donatell, but they too were blocked as Donatell remains under contract. Jim Harbaugh was asked about returning the coaching staff intact:

"I think that's definitely a possibility. And it's somewhat like players and free agents. When a team has a lot of success, there could be those situations. So, it's not like the national debt where you can just keep printing money. They're will be some big decisions by a lot of people, coaches, players, etc. But, one of our strengths is our togetherness. And there's a brotherhood on this team. So, we'll strive very hard to keep that going."

Cam Inman spoke with Donatell during Media Day, and had a chance to discuss his aspirations as a coach. Donatell told Inman he wanted to be a defensive coordinator again, but that he also recognized the 49ers had a good thing going:

"Jim Harbaugh has created such a great working environment that nobody is in any hurry to get out of here," Donatell said. "There's no question this stuff will be putting out guys (as head coaches) in the next couple years, guys like Greg Roman, Vic Fangio, Brad Seely, Jim Tomsula, and on and on. We've got great assistants."

At this point, it would seem like most of the coaching staff will be returning for one more year. While there can be frustrations from the various positions, another year of continuity can have some tremendous effects on this franchise. There were plenty of question marks following the Super Bowl, but there is time to address those from game-planning, personnel and execution standpoints.