Michigan defensive coordinator Jesse Minter is expected to depart this week and follow Jim Harbaugh to the Los Angeles Chargers, MLive has learned.
The move is expected to happen by the end of the week, sources with knowledge of the move have said, making Minter the second known Michigan staffer to follow Harbaugh to the NFL. Reports over the weekend said Minter was telling Michigan players of his planned departure.
Neither he, the school or the Chargers have publicly acknowledged the move. Harbaugh is set to address the media on Thursday during an introductory press conference in Los Angeles.
With Minter on his way out, Michigan’s newly-promoted head coach Sherrone Moore is now tasked with replacing both key coordinator roles — and perhaps all three, if Jay Harbaugh elects to follow his father out west, as expected
Jay Harbaugh was on hand for Moore’s introductory news conference on Saturday in Ann Arbor. Minter was not.
In his two seasons at Michigan, Minter presided over a pair of top-10 defenses that helped the Wolverines to back-to-back Big Ten titles and a College Football Playoff national title. In 2023, the unit ranked No. 1 nationally in scoring defense (10.4 points per game) and total defense (247 yards).
Mike Macdonald, a former defensive end for Michigan who is expected to take over as the next head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, was given credit for revamping the Wolverines’ defensive scheme in 2021. Minter replaced him. Minter, 40, has been a collegiate coach for a long time. He gained his NFL experience as a member of the Baltimore Ravens coaching staff from 2017 to 2020.
The Chargers also claimed Michigan’s million-dollar strength coach this week. In a news release on Monday, the school announced the elevation of assistant strength coach Justin Tress and acknowledged the departure of Ben Herbert.
