After his success in the 2024 season, the question for Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter has generally been when he'll get a head coaching opportunity, not if. While Minter didn't secure a head coaching interview last season, the idea coming into 2025 is that he would definitely get some interest after a second season with Los Angeles.
That perception has since been confirmed by NFL insiders. Yesterday, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero included Minter on his list of 2026 head coaching candidates. Pelissero wrote this about the Chargers' defensive coordinator:
"This season, the Chargers rank fourth in yards allowed (280.2 per game), fourth on third downs (34.2%) and eighth in scoring (20.3 ppg). Minter has traits -- leadership, presence, confidence, player evaluation skills -- that would translate well into a head job. Jim Harbaugh has spent two years serving as Minter's de facto campaign manager in media interviews. It didn't land Minter an interview last year, but this cycle figures to be a different story."
Chargers DC Jesse Minter will still get head coaching interviews in spite of some rough defensive games
Pelissero isn't alone in the perception that Minter will have his market. In a Week 12 buzz article from ESPN yesterday, Jeremy Fowler highlighted Minter and Rams DC Chris Shula as names that will emerge from the defensive coaching pool.
On paper, the Chargers' defensive metrics are plenty good enough to warrant head coaching buzz for Minter. While the numbers don't quite line up with 2024 on the basis that they've played a harder schedule, Los Angeles' defense still ranks pretty well in yards, points, and third-down conversion percentage allowed. The Chargers are also fourth in opponent passing yards per game.
But the Chargers have dropped a few spots when it comes to run defense relative to last season. They went from 14th to 18th in rushing yards allowed per game. That stat itself doesn't indicate a huge drop-off. But when teams are running the ball well, the Chargers have gotten gashed.
The film against Washington, Indianapolis, and Jacksonville was not pretty in that regard. Per rush, the Chargers are one of the worst run defenses in the league. They currently are giving up 4.7 yards per attempt on the ground (27th in the league).
The league has likely already decided that Minter will get a chance to interview for jobs. He's a deserving candidate based on what he's done in his first two seasons with the Chargers. That's especially true when his side of the ball hasn't gotten the level of draft capital or financial investment that the offense has.
However, Minter will probably have to answer interview questions about why the run defense has taken such a significant step back compared to the 2024 campaign.