Under the leadership of head coach Jim Harbaugh, the Chargers have welcomed Jesse Minter as their new defensive coordinator.
Minter, aged 40, previously served alongside Harbaugh as Michigan’s defensive coordinator from 2022-2023. He spent 2017-2020 under the guidance of Harbaugh’s brother, John, assuming roles as a defensive assistant, assistant defensive backs coach, and defensive backs coach.
In a recent interview with Eric Smith of the Chargers’ website, Minter expressed his enthusiasm for scheming with safety Derwin James.
“I’ve gotten a chance to get to know him a little bit, just an unbelievable person, unbelievable leader,” Minter said. “The type of mindset that we want to have here on defense is kind of how he plays already.
I’m excited just to sort of try to unleash Derwin. No. 1, put him in positions to best utilize his skills and — he can do a lot of stuff — but I also think there’s a fine line. Like, ‘Let’s try to maximize Derwin and allow him to do the things that he’s good at as much as possible.’
“Sometimes you can get a guy like that, and you can almost do too much with him and move him around too much. I want him to understand the concepts of the defense so that there are certainly times that we can maximize his skill set. I think he can affect the game in a lot of ways.”
Regarding James’ versatility, Minter highlighted his prowess as a “dynamic blitzer” and “an elite cover guy,” particularly against tight ends.
“Then he’s a physical presence over the middle of the field at the safety position,” Minter said. “We want to put him in a position to use his strengths and do all that stuff to the best of his ability.
“But just most excited about his leadership skills, his eagerness. I feel like he stopped by my office every day for the first couple of weeks I was here. He just wanted to talk and wanted to kind of get to know me and what we were trying to build.
I like to look at it as a partnership with these guys. Now we’re in this thing together, we’re building this thing together. Excited about Derwin and the capabilities he has.”
James, selected as the No. 17 overall pick in the 2018 draft, garnered first-team All-Pro honors in his rookie campaign and second-team All-Pro recognition in 2022. In 2023, he amassed 125 total tackles with five tackles for loss, four QB hits, 2.0 sacks, and an interception.
