Who is Jesse Minter? NFL teams seeking head coaches pursue Chargers DC

Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, a 2005 Mount St. Joseph University graduate and four-year football letterwinner at MSJ, is among candidates to become a first-time NFL head coach.

Minter reportedly interviewed Jan. 13 with the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans. Albert Breer reported that the Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins, Atlanta Falcons, New York Giants, Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens also requested interviews with Minter.

Minter was among candidates to replace Sherrone Moore as the University of Michigan's head coach before the Wolverines hired Kyle Whittingham.

Minter spent two seasons as the Wolverines' DC under Jim Harbaugh. Minter left Michigan in 2024 to join Harbaugh with the Chargers.

What to know about Minter, who turns 43 years old in May:

Jesse Minter is the son of former Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Rick Minter

Rick Minter was UC's head coach from 1994 to 2003.

Jesse works with his father, currently a senior defensive analyst for the Chargers.

During NBC's November broadcast of the Chargers' game against Pittsburgh, Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth discussed the two seasons then-Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin spent as the Bearcats' defensive backs coach, as an assistant under then-head coach Rick Minter.

"So Mike Tomlin's breaking in, he's at the University of Cincinnati," Tirico said during the broadcast. "Rick Minter is the head coach of the Bearcats. Rick's son, Jesse, is a high school sophomore receiver, and he's watching Mike Tomlin and those DBs. That's where the relationship formed. And it's a relationship with the three of them that's really lasted over a quarter-century in so many great ways."

"Rick Minter really had a lot to do, at least according to Mike Tomlin, with the fact that he was able to get on with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' coaching staff," Collinsworth added. "And it was Jesse who would sit and just stare as a 16-year-old at what Mike Tomlin was doing coaching defensive backs and wide receivers. He just loved it, and so much of his style is modeled after Mike Tomlin."

Jesse Minter also worked with Jim Harbaugh's brother, John

Before Vanderbilt, Minter spent four seasons as a Baltimore Ravens defensive assistant, where he worked with Jim Harbaugh's older brother.

John Harbaugh, the Ravens' head coach from 2008 until he was fired Jan. 6, is a Miami University graduate and former UC special teams coordinator.

Jesse Minter also coached for the UC Bearcats

Jesse Minter spent two seasons as a graduate assistant coach at UC in 2007 and 2008.

Minter's first job after leaving MSJ was as a defensive intern at Notre Dame in 2006, under then-head coach Charlie Weis.

Jesse Minter also has been a defensive coordinator at Georgia State and Indiana State.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Who is Jesse Minter? NFL teams seeking head coaches pursue Chargers DC