Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter was asked at his Friday media availability if there is an extra desire to win on Monday Night knowing that Jim Harbaugh will be facing off against his brother. His answer, and how he gave it, showed his loyalty to Los Angeles' head coach:
"I want to win every game for Jim," Minter stated. "It's no different in a preseason game. I want to win every game for Jim Harbaugh. The opportunities he's given me, chose to bring me to Michigan, chose to bring me here to the Chargers. I want to do right by him. I want to prove him right. Everyday that I wake up, I'm trying to prove Jim Harbaugh right. That he made the right decision with me, and this game is certainly no different."
As shown in that quote, Minter certainly has Jim Harbaugh's back. For the last eight years of his career, Minter has worked for both Harbaugh brothers. He started as a defensive assistant with the Ravens with John Harbaugh in 2017 and would eventually climb the ladder to the Michigan defensive coordinator position followed in short order by the Chargers DC job.
Jesse Minter is committed to Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers
Harbaugh has also notably had Minter's back. On his "The Pat McAfee Show" appearance from just over a week ago, the Chargers HC raved about his defensive coordinator in an almost 2025 head coach campaign endorsement fashion. In addition to suggesting he'd potentially be gone after just one season, Harbaugh also said this in the interview:
"He's a humble warrior, I mean his picture could be right up there next to it," Harbaugh lavished. "And a jackhammer. I'm about to go into a meeting with Jesse and it's gonna be 'we played this', and he's gonna want 'we can get better at this'. 'We had this many missed tackles, and we had the two defensive offsides penalties back to back.' He's always-more is more for Jesse. He's just intuitive. He knows offensive football almost as well as defensive football. He knows how an offense is going to try to attack."
While Minter is obviously still a frontrunner for head coaching gigs regardless of the loyalty he preached towards Harbaugh today, it makes one wonder the quality of opportunity he'd leave the Chargers for. Guilty as Charged's Steven Haglund drew a comparison between how Minter speaks of Harbaugh and how Detroit's Ben Johnson speaks of Dan Campbell.
Jesse Minter will get another primetime-based head coaching audition game as the Chargers play the Ravens on Monday Night. Minter also noted the blue-chip offensive talent that Baltimore has at his press conference today.
On two-time NFL MVP QB Lamar Jackson, Minter went as far as to call him, "the most electric quarterback in the history of the National Football League".