After allowing more than 23 points per game last season, the Chargers’ defense has emerged as one of the league’s top units in 2024. The unit has allowed just 33 points over its first three games, earning new defensive coordinator Jesse Minter some attention early in his second NFL coaching stint.
Los Angeles underwent an organizational overhaul this offseason, hiring Jim Harbaugh as head coach and former Ravens director of player personnel Joe Hortiz as general manager. Hortiz brought several ex-Ravens players, coaches and front office personnel with him to Los Angeles, while Harbaugh installed Minter as defensive coordinator after the pair led Michigan to an undefeated record and national championship last season.
The Chargers did not make any major roster additions to their defense this offseason, though they did convince OLBs Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack to take pay cuts. That freed up the cap space to add a few veterans on one-year deals, including cornerback Kristian Fulton, linebackers Bud Dupree and Denzel Perryman, along with defensive tackle Poona Ford.
Those veterans have performed well, but Minter has received the lion’s share of the credit for whipping one of the league’s worst defenses since 2021 into shape. The Bolts rank third in scoring defense and sixth in yardage, marks that come in well ahead of the team’s offensive marks through three games.
Minter’s pedigree at Michigan – which includes a historic 2023 defense that allowed just 10.4 points per game – and the early returns from his work in Los Angeles have placed him in the conversation for future head coaching jobs, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. If Minter keeps it up, he could start receiving interview requests at the end of this season after other teams move on from their current head coaches.
A few years ago, Minter’s candidacy for a head coaching position may not have made sense with the NFL embracing offensive-minded coaches like the Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel, the Vikings’ Kevin O’Connell, and the Giants’ Brian Daboll. But more teams have hired defensive coaches for their top job over the last two seasons, including Mike Macdonald in Seattle, DeMeco Ryans in Houston, Jonathan Gannon in Arizona and Raheem Morris in Atlanta. A successful season for the Chargers’ defense could make Minter one of the league’s premier defensive coordinators and a top candidate for a head coaching gig.
Macdonald made a similar leap, going from Wolverines DC in 2021 to a two-year stay as Ravens defensive boss to his current Seahawks gig. Macdonald and Minter overlapped in Baltimore but not in Ann Arbor, with the latter still being at Vanderbilt (as the Commodores’ DC) during Macdonald’s Michigan DC season.
League decision-makers may believe that Minter requires more seasoning before taking a top coaching job, but this is not his first stint in the NFL. He coached in Baltimore from 2017 to 2020, rising to the position of Ravens defensive backs coach. Minter also has some head coaching experience after serving as interim HC for the Wolverines during Harbaugh’s three-game suspension to begin the 2023 season.
Harbaugh was suspended after the NCAA’s investigation into illegal scouting and sign-stealing allegations, and he is now facing an additional four-year show-cause order for violations of COVID recruitment and coaching rules, according to ESPN. If Harbaugh wants to return to coaching in the NCAA down the road, the school hiring him must explain its decision to an NCAA committee and suspend him for the first full season. Even after the first year, Harbaugh would not be allowed to attend athletics-related activities, such as practice, team meetings, and recruiting, until the show-cause order expires in 2028.
Essentially, Harbaugh is barred from coaching in the NCAA until 2028, but his five-year, $80MM contract with the Chargers indicates he has little interest in returning to college football. If all goes well in Los Angeles, Harbaugh will be there through the end of his contract, and by that time, Minter will likely have earned a shot at an NFL head coaching job of his own.