‘Relentless’: Jesse Minter reveals his vision for the identity of Michigan’s defense
Michigan Wolverines football is in ‘year two’ of its defensive system, even though Mike Macdonald left for the Baltimore Ravens and Jesse Minter is in his first year coordinating the unit.
Minter, who coached with Macdonald in Baltimore and coordinated the Vanderbilt defense last season, is similar in both coaching style and scheme to what Michigan’s players became accustomed to last season. One of those similarities is that the Wolverines’ defense won’t look exactly the same from week to week. The “menu” — fronts, coverages, strategy — will be different depending on the opponent. But one thing Minter won’t budge as much on is the identity of his group.
“I think it’s a relentless, competitive group that thrives in situational football, plays with an edge, plays with a chip on our shoulder,” Michigan’s new coordinator said when asked what his vision is for the Wolverines’ defensive identity.
“I think it’s going to be a team defense, where you do what’s best for the team, but also where we’ll try to do things to showcase different guys every week. And maybe a little bit more versatile in that regard, where you don’t have like that one guy that’s going to get 12 to 15 sacks, or two guys.
“It’s just going to be a strong camaraderie of guys that play for each other and play really hard and play really fast. And hopefully, that’s something that the fans enjoy watching.”
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Michigan fans certainly enjoyed watching the Wolverines’ defense last season. After finishing 95th nationally with 34.5 points per game given up in 2020, the Maize and Blue yielded just 17.4 points per outing under Macdonald last season, a mark that slotted eighth in the country.
A lot of the identity Minter described is reminiscent to how Michigan played last season. The Wolverines had a few stars — Aidan Hutchinson, David Ojabo, Daxton Hill, etc. — but the overall success was a group effort. Each position group had their strengths and weaknesses, but it all amounted to one of the Big Ten’s best defenses when put all together.
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Minter is intent on keeping that going, and even said he wants to improve the unit.
Michigan, College Game Is Where Jesse Minter ‘Fits’
Don’t get it confused — Minter has a strong background in college football. He started out at that level, including coordinator stops at Indiana State (2011-12) and Georgia State (2013-16), before making the move to the NFL’s Ravens, where he resided from 2017-20, and then joining Vanderbilt’s staff last season.
Having tasted both college and pro, Minter believes he belongs at the college level, and Michigan is a great place for him.
“That’s certainly how I came up,” Minter said of the college game. “My dad [Rick Minter] was good college coach for 35-40 years. Sort of how I grew up in the locker room, grew up in college programs. So I enjoy the college game I enjoy the development piece of it where you take you get guys that are 17, 18 years old, try and help them get where they want to go.
“Enjoy the recruiting piece of it. In the NFL, you get one first-round pick. And in college, if you really work at it, you work at recruiting, you can get a lot of guys, so I enjoy that piece of it and just enjoy the continuity that comes with college football, the pageantry. Excited to coach in The Big House, all that type of stuff. I would say this is where I fit.”
