Coming into this campaign, one of the primary storylines following the Los Angeles Chargers was how the departure of defensive coordinator Jesse Minter would affect their viability on that side of the ball. Minter had routinely elevated a unit without much blue-chip talent. Could Chris O'Leary, a first-time NFL play caller, do the same?
Well, that turned out to be the least of their problems. The defense has actually been solid outside of a lackluster performance against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 6—limiting opposing offenses both through the air and on the ground even while missing key pieces in Derwin James Jr. and Donte Jackson for large portions of the campaign. O'Leary has struggled to consistently find pressure in the way that Minter did, but he's leveraged the talent of this roster in a respectable way.
The offense, on the other hand, has looked absolutely abysmal. The Chargers are currently 32nd in points per game and in EPA/play. They frankly haven't come close to viability on that side of the ball, and the introduction of Mike McDaniel as offensive coordinator after the firing of Greg Roman has been an abject failure to this point in the season.
Los Angeles, then, certainly has no room to gloat over Minter and the Baltimore Ravens. But as the Ravens' season continues to get derailed by Lamar Jackson's absence and middling defensive play, it's worth asking the question—did Minter depart from the Chargers too early?
Jesse Minter deserves all the success in the world—but the Ravens might be too great a challenge for the young coordinator
Let's make one thing clear. Minter is already one of the finest defensive play callers in the NFL, and Chargers fans should be rooting for nothing but success on his part (until the Ravens and Chargers play in Week 10, of course). Any question about his readiness to be a head coach is a reflection on the league-wide trend of hiring young coordinators, rather than any lack of talent on Minter's part.
But here's the reality of the situation. Organizations tend to spring for young, hot shot coordinators almost every time the opportunity presents itself. The Chargers did so this offseason by taking a gamble on Mike McDaniel, who had fizzled out in his head coaching duties in Miami. The Ravens, in attempting to move past the nearly two-decade long tenure of John Harbaugh, brought in a defensive mind with only two years of NFL play calling experience.
Sure, he's from the Harbaugh "tree". And Minter more than earned his stripes across those two seasons, leading the Chargers to back-to-back seasons as a top-10 defense in the NFL under his zone-heavy scheme.
But being at the helm of an organization is an entirely different beast than simply calling plays for one unit.
Minter obviously can't control the circumstances surrounding Jackson and the offense—the star quarterback has now missed the last three games due to a reported high ankle sprain. But he hasn't been able to elevate the defense in the way Baltimore obviously thought he would. Last season, the Ravens finished 30th in passing yards allowed and posted just 30 sacks on the season. Although they finished 10th in total rushing yards allowed, it simply wasn't a Super Bowl caliber unit, and Baltimore missed the playoffs in large part as a result of that deficit.
Through the first seven games of 2026, the Ravens are 13th in passing yards allowed and 20th in rushing yards allowed. The pressure and sack numbers, meanwhile, have only marginally improved. The unit, notably, gave up 35 second-half points to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 7, letting the game slip out of its grasp and ultimately suffering the team's third loss of the season.
There's certainly some improvement there, and Baltimore is still 4-3 with much of its slate left to play. It's not time to panic yet. But this campaign is shaping up suspiciously similarly to how 2025 went for Baltimore—a middling roster that struggled heavily with Jackson out and ultimately missed the postseason as a result.
If Minter was brought in with the intention of leading a young, inexperienced team to defensive consistency, this would be among the expected struggles. But the Ravens brought in a relatively inexperienced play caller with the aim of Super Bowl contention in 2026. Right now, that doesn't seem to be the trajectory of either this unit or this team as a whole.
Most Chargers fans were well aware that Minter would get his head coaching opportunity this past offseason. It's simply the nature of the league—new play callers, and fresh ideas, are always exciting and in demand.
The expected return of Jackson in Week 8 could easily help right this ship for Minter. But if it doesn't, it's at least worth posing the question—did Minter's exit from Los Angeles come too early for his own good?
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