michigan wolverines football head coach jim harbaugh He was traded to the NFL's Los Angeles Chargers in late January, less than a month after his team won the 12th national championship in program history.A few weeks later, he hired a defensive coordinator. Jesse Minteris now back in the NFL after two seasons with the Maize and Blue.
In an interview with Chargers.comMinter explained his decision to leave Ann Arbor for Los Angeles.
“No. One is Jim Harbaugh, and that's the opportunity the Chargers gave me — the Spanos family. [general manager] Joe Hortis, coach,” Minter said. “I'm really honored to be here. It's a great opportunity for my family and for me.”
Minter has coached most of his career in college, but spent four seasons in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens from 2017 to 2020. He had his eyes set on returning to the professional ranks for some time.
“Certainly, I’ve always dreamed of doing this at this level, so to have the opportunity to continue working with people that I know and trust and feel comfortable around, this was a great opportunity.” continued Mr. Minter. “I’m looking forward to doing it here.”
When Minter was hired by the University of Michigan ahead of the 2022 season, he was inheriting a defense that had great success under his coordinator the previous season. mike mcdonald, became the DC of the Ravens and is currently the head man of the Seattle Seahawks. Now, Minter is developing alongside Harbaugh with the Chargers.
“I know how he wants to build the team,” Minter said. “I know the identity he's looking for. I know how we can help with that, how we want to play defense. So when I first went to Michigan, He was founded there, so he learned the culture there, he learned the identity there. But now he knows what we want it to look like. And he's been at the forefront of that, early on. If we can build that foundation, I think it’s going to be really fun.”
Michigan hires longtime NFL defensive coordinator don martindalethe same guy Minter coached in Baltimore ran this system.
Minter said there are aspects of the staff's behavior at the University of Michigan that are translatable to their time in Los Angeles.
“This is the ultimate team,” Minter said of what Harbaugh is trying to build. “At Michigan, it was 'team, team, team,' and he's always been that way. Building a team from the inside out, building a team that's tough, physical and can win in a lot of different ways.” So we're looking forward to playing our part on defense here and bringing success. ”
rick minter, Jesse's father and longtime coach, also spent the past two seasons at Michigan. He served as an analyst before being named interim linebackers coach for the final five games of the 2023 season. He also followed Harbaugh and his son to the Chargers as a senior defensive analyst.
“Culturally, educationally, programmatically, he just runs a lot of different things,” Minter said of how he has relied on his father. “It's just the little things. 'Do you think coaches will understand this?' How do I teach this concept? Is this too much?” Is it enough? Do you have a sufficient answer?'
“Things like that, he has this big picture view. His view is from 30,000 feet, but I'm closer so he has a wider lens and I like to say, “Hey, how about this or that?” It's kind of the big picture perspective that he brings. ”
