ANN ARBOR, Mich. — On Feb. 8, 2022, social media was awash with laughing rivals because Michigan football had just hired Vanderbilt’s defensive coordinator.
The Commodores have long been the laughingstock of the SEC in terms of on-the-field play, and rival fans assumed the Wolverine defense would follow suit after Michigan lost Mike Macdonald, the 2021 defensive coordinator, to the Baltimore Ravens.
What those fans of other schools ignored was Jesse Minter’s experience with the Ravens. Just because he coached at lower-level schools didn’t mean he couldn’t put together a top-flight defense.
Fast forward to today. Michigan had the sixth-best defense in Minter’s first year coordinating the defense and is No. 2 today — and tops the nation in scoring defense. He’s also coming off two straight wins over Ohio State, having frustrated the usually top-flight Buckeye offense in The Game.
Minter said on Wednesday he was hired in Ann Arbor specifically to beat Ohio State, and he came in with a plan. That plan has been executed in each of his two seasons with Michigan, and once one iteration of The Game is over, he’s already onto the next one.
“I think anytime you go somewhere, and you assess,” Minter said. “It started with Mike (Macdonald) and then tried to carry it on. But anytime you go somewhere you assess what’s the thing that’s kept this place from reaching the highest goals that you might have? And, particularly, it was that game.
“There were so many wins and a lot of success and a lot of really good defenses. I mean, No. 1 defense in the country, top five, but is it set up to beat the team that you have to beat, (that) you’re going to play in the last game of the season every year? And so when I interviewed here, it was like, how are you going to beat Ohio State? And how are we going to beat Michigan State? Because we were coming off a loss to Michigan State, as well. So I think just it’s it’s something you work on every day here.
“You work on it year-round. I think all the drills that we do, all the physicality, all the things that I even think our offense has things built into, allow us to be ready for that game — that you see in spring ball, you see in training camp. So yeah, it’s a year-round thing. And it’s really important. And even after the game, you’re already thinking about what you’re going to do the next time you play them and the answers that you need to have for maybe some things you showed.
“So it’s a year-round process. And the guys here have really bought into that. And it’s allowed us to be successful over the last couple of times we played them.”
Minter drew the ire of Ohio State fans after the 30-24 win on Saturday by waving goodbye to the Buckeye bench — an indication that he took the win quite personally.
#Michigan defensive coordinator Jesse Minter waves goodbye to the Ohio State sideline 📽️ pic.twitter.com/CXs1dh8QEh
— Chase Bachman (@ChaseBachman) November 26, 2023
You can understand why. He has been maligned for having consorted with former staffer Connor Stalions. Rivals intimated the only reason he was could beat the Buckeyes was that association. On Saturday, he proved he didn’t need Stalions and his alleged illegal sign-stealing scheme to draw up a successful defense for OSU.
So you can excuse him for showing a little emotion. It wasn’t just that, it’s the reason he came to Ann Arbor to begin with. It was a game that came down to defensive execution and his unit made the big play in the biggest moment.
“This is The Game — when you come to Michigan, it’s for this game, for this type of game,” Minter said. “Our season goals really hinged on that game. All the reasons that the guys came back, all the reasons that — we want to get to that next step as a program and have success in the championship game and in the playoffs, hinged on that game. And so it was a moment, was happy with the way the game ended, Rod made a great play. And, certainly, got caught up in the moment, got excited.”
With Ohio State in the rearview mirror, Michigan moves on to Iowa in the Big Ten Championship game on Saturday. If all goes well there, the Wolverines will head to their third straight College Football Playoff appearance, which will be Minter’s second.