Report: Michigan assistant Jesse Minter interviews with Philadelphia Eagles for open DC job
Michigan defensive coordinator Jesse Minter might have an opportunity to go to the NFL, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. The Wolverines assistant interviewed with the Philadelphia Eagles for their vacant defensive coordinator job.
The Eagles previously interviewed former Wisconsin interim coach and DC Jim Leonhard for the same role. As Garafolo reported, the Eagles dipped into the college realm in their latest round of interviews.
Minter was hired as the Michigan defensive coordinator prior to the 2022 season and helped the Wolverines get to the College Football Playoff for the second straight year.
“Among the Eagles defensive coordinator interviews to date: Rams DBs coach/pass game coordinator Chris Shula and Michigan DC Jesse Minter, sources say,” Garafolo wrote on Twitter. “Shula and Nick Sirianni were together on the Chargers’ coaching staff 2015-16. Jesse Minter coordinated one of the top defenses in the country last year. The Eagles are scanning both the NFL and the college ranks (they talked to former Wisconsin DC Jim Leonhard, as Jeremy Fowler reported) and Minter has experience at both levels (former Ravens assistant).”
Minter began his coaching career in 2006 at Notre Dame as a defensive intern. He coached at Cincinnati the next two years as a graduate assistant before he was hired as the linebackers coach at Indiana State in 2009.
Minter was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2011 and went to Georgia State in the same role in 2013 before getting a chance in the NFL. He was a defensive assistant with the Baltimore Ravens under John Harbaugh in 2017 and worked his way up to defensive backs coach.
In 2021, Minter was Vanderbilt’s defensive coordinator and safeties coach.
Former Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon left Philadelphia right after the Super Bowl LVII loss and accepted the Arizona Cardinals head coaching job. The Eagles reportedly offered Gannon more than just “head coaching money” in an attempt to keep continuity on the staff.
The Eagles also lost offensive coordinator Shane Steichen, who accepted the head coaching job with the Indianapolis Colts. While signs point towards a promotion for quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson to OC, the defensive coordinator search was more extensive for Philadelphia.
Minter and Leonhard could be intriguing candidates, since both have NFL ties despite coaching in college. Leonhard does not have a current job while Minter coaches under Jim Harbaugh in Ann Arbor.