Just from looking at the Los Angeles Chargers' 20-9 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, it would be nearly impossible to tell that the Bolts played without several key defenders. Much like most of the fan base, Jim Harbaugh gives almost all the credit to defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, who has been with him since his tenure with Michigan football.
The Chargers started the game without Denzel Perryman and Junior Colson and lost Khalil Mack early in the first quarter. Linebacker Daiyan Henley also played while battling a significant illness that nearly added him to the inactive list. They still held the Raiders to just 218 yards of total offense and prevented them from scoring a single touchdown.
After the game, Harbaugh credited Minter for orchestrating a “masterpiece.”
“Call that a masterpiece of a game,” Harbaugh said of Minter, via ‘The Athletic.'
Harbaugh and Minter are in their fourth year together, and second with the Chargers. The 42-year-old joined Harbaugh's staff at Michigan in 2022, after previous defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald returned to the NFL.
When Harbaugh was at Michigan, he notoriously shared a network of coaches with his older brother, John Harbaugh. Minter was a part of that network, having worked for John Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens from 2017 to 2020. However, he did not fully blossom until becoming Jim Harbaugh's defensive coordinator in Ann Arbor.
While Macdonald established a gritty defensive culture within the Wolverines' program, Minter took it to another level. Michigan allowed just 16.1 points per game in 2022, the seventh-fewest in the FBS, and elevated that number to 10.4 in 2023, the best in the country.
Jesse Minter carrying Michigan football success into Chargers tenure
After consecutive dominant seasons, Minter was destined to return to the NFL as a defensive coordinator. Once Jim Harbaugh was hired by the Chargers to succeed Brandon Staley, it came as no surprise that he took Minter with him.
Minter was a good defensive coordinator in 2024, but he is proving to be elite in 2025. Although the sample size is small, Minter has coached a dominant defense that is allowing the seventh-fewest yards and third-fewest points through two games.
The numbers are even more impressive considering the circumstances. Los Angeles' defense has yet to play as a complete, healthy unit and has already faced two divisional opponents, including the defending AFC champions, the Kansas City Chiefs.
