The Michigan Wolverines won their first national championship since 1997 thanks to Jim Harbaugh. Now, amid strong interest in Harbaugh from the NFL, there also appears to be a chance that the Wolverines will lose one of their top assistants to the NFL.
Michigan’s coaching staff has undergone plenty of changes in recent years. After falling short in the College Football Playoff, Harbaugh shook up his coaching staff in 2022. The Wolverines promoted tight ends coach Sherrone Moore to co-offensive coordinator in 2021, then one year later hired Vanderbilt’s Jesse Minter to take over as defensive coordinator.
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The coaching moves helped the Wolverines’ football program take that next step. Thanks to the best defense in college football and one of the best rushing offenses in the Power 5, Michigan rode it to a national championship. However, the Wolverines may have to move forward without one of their best coaches in 2024.
Speaking to On3.com, Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt shared his belief that Minter will leave Michigan “really soon” to take a job with an NFL team.
“He’s a young guy and there’s a good chance that he’s going to be in the NFL really soon. I know that’s where he cut his teeth. I think that’s where he wants to end up eventually, although that would be a huge miss for college football.”
Joel Klatt on Michigan Wolverines defensive coordinator Jesse Minter
| PPG Allowed | Total YPG Allowed | Sack Rate | YPR allowed | |
| 2022 | 16.1 (6th) | 292.1 (5th) | 7.47% (33rd) | 3.3 (9th) |
| 2023 | 9.5 (1st) | 239.7 (2nd) | 8.6% (14th) | 2.9 (6th) |
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Minter, who turns 41 in May, has spent a significant portion of his coaching career in the NFL. After serving as Georgia State’s defensive coordinator (2013-’16), he joined the Baltimore Ravens coaching staff in 2017. By 2020, he was coaching the Ravens’ defensive backs until he turned that job into becoming Vanderbilt’s defensive coordinator in 2021.
It’s possible Minter could wait to see what path Harbaugh takes. If the Wolverines’ coach leaves for the Los Angeles Chargers, Minter could follow Harbaugh to the NFL, taking a defensive coordinator gig with another NFL franchise or replacing Harbaugh as the Wolverines’ coach.
Losing Minter alone would likely result in defensive regression for the Wolverines next season, especially with the number of players they’re losing to the 2024 NFL Draft. While Michigan remains optimistic that it can prevent Harbaugh from leaving for the NFL, there appears to be a very real chance that Minter won’t stick around for much longer.
