Ed Donatell, Adam Gase join Chicago Bears, Eric Mangini DC possibility further confirmed

The San Francisco 49ers officially see one coach join another team, while there own search continues. The Chicago Bears announced that Ed Donatell has joined the team as defensive backs coach. He will continue to work under former 49ers and current Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.

Fooch's Update: Adam Gase has agreed to become the Chicago Bears offensive coordinator.

Donatell seemingly did some amazing things with the 49ers secondary over the last four years. The team brought in under-the-radar guys and rookies, and they made great progress. There were certainly question marks along the way, but generally Donatell was doing a lot with a fairly moderate investment. It is a shame the 49ers did not give him a chance at the defensive coordinator position. Well, a shame assuming it was something he would have wanted.

Speaking of defensive coordinator, Ian Rapoport added his two cents on the news Matt Barrows wrote about on Tuesday:

Eric Mangini, who recently spent time interviewing with #Raiders, is speaking with #49ers about their defensive coordinator job, source said

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 21, 2015

The 49ers had Mangini working with tight ends in 2014, and as a general offensive assistant in 2013. He made his bones in the NFL as a defensive assistant, so if he did get the job, it would get him back in an area where he has more experience. Given the news today that the 49ers were hiring Jason Tarver as linebackers coach and senior defensive assistant, one would think the 49ers have some clue who their next defensive coordinator will be. It would seem odd to hire more assistants without knowing for sure. We're seeing them hire assistants on the offensive side without an OC in place. Maybe they have something in mind that will play out in the next week or so.