When it comes to the search for Michigan football's next head coach, there are some wildcards. One of them is Jesse Minter.
People have mentioned John Harbaugh, too. I don't see that happening. John may have a breakup with the Ravens at some point, but he can have just about any job he wants in the NFL.
However, there is another name connected to the NFL that could make sense, which is Minter. The Chargers defensive coordinator, under Jim Harbaugh, was the Wolverines DC in the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
Would Jesse Minter to Michigan make sense?
Minter was a huge reason why Michigan football won the national championship. The past two seasons, his defensive expertise has been revealed in the NFL as the Chargers are barreling toward another playoff berth.
His name has been mentioned, but wasn't part of the power rankings we released on Monday. Why? It's hard to gauge his interest.
NFL hires are always made more difficult by the timeline. The regular season has three more weeks. Unless Michigan takes the route that Notre Dame did back in the day with Charlie Weis, announcing the hire of Minter, while allowing him to coach the Chargers, and be Michigan's head coach, it's hard to see this thing getting announced before the season is over. That was also before the portal existed.
I have a hard time seeing Minter leaving the Chargers before the season is over, and he shouldn't. It's also fair to ask if he even wants to be a college head coach, when it seems like only a matter of time before he's offered an NFL head coaching job, or gets to pick from a few.
If Minter wants to be an NFL head coach, his answer is to stay with the Chargers. The other part of this thing is if he is the next Michigan football head coach, how long would he stay?
We all remember the constant rumors of Jim Harbaugh to the NFL. It feels like it would be the same with Minter. If he had success in Ann Arbor, and there is zero reason to think he wouldn't, he would be a hot commodity.
It's hard to see Minter lasting five seasons as the head coach before departing for the NFL. That's not a bad thing if Michigan wins another national championship, but would it be better to have a guy like Kenny Dillingham for the next 15 years, assuming it works out.
Minter would be a great fit. Maybe it would be another Harbaugh era, which worked out just fine, but Minter doesn't have the same tie to Michigan, so it's hard to see him staying as long, assuming he's interested in the job in the first place.