David Cobb with CBS Sports came out with a list of six coordinators who are poised to land a Power Five head coaching job in the upcoming season or two.
First on his list was Clemson‘s new offensive coordinator, Garrett Riley, who just signed with the Tigers after a sensational year with TCU. Riley helped lead the Horned Frogs to their first College Football Playoff final.
The second coordinator on Cobb’s list was Michigan’s defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. Minter came to Michigan last year after Mike Macdonald left to become the Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator.
Michigan ranked No. 5 nationally in total defense last season, allowing just 292.1 yards per game. The Wolverines also finished in the top 10 for both yards allowed per rush and yards allowed per pass attempt. Not bad for Minter’s first season on the job. He arrived after a one-year stint at Vanderbilt and time with the Baltimore Ravens, where he worked for Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh’s brother, John. Minter, 40, began his career with entry-level jobs at Notre Dame and Cincinnati, has NFL and SEC experience and is now proving to be an elite defensive coordinator for one of the sport’s top brands. All signs point toward Minter becoming a coach of interest to Power Five schools with openings so long as the Wolverines sustain their defensive standard in 2023.
The Wolverines’ defense didn’t skip a beat last season going from Macdonald to Minter. Even after losing Aidan Hutchinson, David Ojabo and Dax Hill to the NFL draft, Michigan reloaded on defense, and with the scheme not changing much at all — the Wolverines were a top-five defense.
Minter received NFL interest after his first season with Michigan. The Philadelphia Eagles reached out and talked with Minter about coming there to become the DC, but Minter is back in Ann Arbor for another year.
It’s hard to argue if Michigan can replicate what it did last year with Minter as the defensive coordinator, Power Five teams should be calling Minter to come talk with them. Minter held Ohio State to 23 points — the third-lowest scoring output of the season from the Buckeyes — and that is a feat of its own, especially at the Horseshoe.
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