Just days after the Chargers gained a high-profile coordinator, they lost one.
Jesse Minter is leaving his role as Los Angeles’ defensive coordinator to take the vacant head coaching job in Baltimore, the Ravens announced Thursday.
“We are thrilled to announce an agreement with Jesse Minter to be the fourth head coach in Baltimore Ravens history,” general manager Eric DeCosta said in a statement.
Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter during Los Angeles Chargers Training Camp on July 26, 2024, at The Bolt in El Segundo, CA. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
“Jesse is a strong leader who possesses a brilliant football mind and a spirit that will resonate with our players and fanbase alike. Jesse comes from a football family, with success at every level of the sport, and we are confident that he is the right coach to lead the Ravens forward.”
Minter’s new contract with the Ravens will be for five years, ESPN reported.
The news comes some 48 hours after former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel reportedly agreed to become the Bolts’ next offensive coordinator, should he not get another head coaching gig in 2026.
Earlier in the day, Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot reported Minter turned down a second interview with the Browns to pursue opportunities he felt were “more certain.”
Minter had been on Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers staff since 2024. He previously worked with Harbaugh from 2022-23 at Michigan.
Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, center, looks on from the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. AP
Minter — who was on John Harbaugh’s defensive staff in Baltimore from 2017-20 — had the Chargers at No. 5 in yards allowed and No. 9 in points allowed this past season. In 2024, he had them at No. 11 in yards and No. 1 in points.
“I am truly honored to serve as the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens,” he said in a statement announcing his latest career move.
“This is an organization whose values, culture and tradition of excellence reflect everything I believe about the game of football and how it should be played.
“My family and I are thrilled to join the Ravens flock, and we can’t wait to make the fans, the great city of Baltimore and Maryland proud.”
Minter had interviewed for several other head coaching vacancies this cycle, including ones in Cleveland, Atlanta and Las Vegas.