What exactly is Rick Minter's role with Michigan football?

Michigan football fans are excited about new defensive coordinator Jesse Minter and what his side of the ball will look like this coming fall and in the future. Minter has experience running a defense (Vanderbilt, Georgia State, Indiana State) and is surrounded by a strong staff — one Harbaugh has called ‘better than ever’ — including co-coordinator and defensive backs coach Steve Clinkscale, defensive line coach Mike Elston, linebackers coach George Helow and safeties coach Jay Harbaugh.

The analysts, too, have earned high marks, with former Michigan defensive back Doug Mallory being the most notable on defense. After Minter was hired, the Wolverines added perhaps their most decorated member of the analyst staff, Minter’s father, Rick Minter, a longtime college coach.

Rick Minter began in the industry in 1977. He’s most known for his time spent as Cincinnati head coach, but he’s also made numerous stops as a defensive coordinator — including two separate stints at Notre Dame (1992-93, 2005-07), South Carolina (2004), Kentucky (2011-12) and elsewhere. He also has experience in the NFL, with the Philadelphia Eagles, and the AAF, with the Birmingham Iron.

Rick has been a mentor and inspiration to Jesse, who’s thrilled to have his father in Ann Arbor and around the Michigan facilities.

What will the 67-year-old do, exactly? This spring, Minter was asked the question, and replied with a smile.

“He’s an analyst here,” an excited Minter said. “He’s my dad.”

The latter sentence drew some chuckles from media members in attendance of his press conference.

Truthfully, though, Rick Minter serving as an analyst and a father is a win-win for Michigan. Jesse can lean on him professionally and personally, and Rick can provide guidance for the rest of the staff as well. He did the same at Georgia State in 2016, serving as defensive line coach while Jesse coordinated the defense, so they’ve already had a similar setup in place, and it’s been proven it works.

“He’s who I’ve learned the most from in football,” Jesse Minter continued. “He’s always been a resource for me wherever I’ve been at. He lived in Nashville last year, so we spent a lot of time together.

“I’m thrilled to have him here and glad [Michigan head] Coach [Jim] Harbaugh was able to offer him an opportunity. I appreciate his presence and his wisdom, just not only for me, but for the rest of the defensive staff as well.”

And yes, Minter confirmed, babysitting duties may be on the table.

What are the challenges for Jesse Minter going from NFL back to college?

Minter has unpacked his bags in Ann Arbor, and most expect him to be year much longer than Mike Macdonald was. It’s not that he won’t likely have other opportunities come up, but Minter is more of a fit for the college game. It’s not only where he cut his teeth, with his first four coaching stops being at college programs, but he grew up around it as well.

Still, it was a challenge going from the NFL back to college last season, after working three years with the Ravens. Minter spoke on the challenges of getting back into the college game.

“Just keeping up with scheme trends, I think,” the Michigan coordinator said. “I do think there’s a lot of carryover in NFL and college, nowadays.

“But I think in college, there’s a tempo aspect of things that certain teams run. There’s much more variation week to week of, in the SEC, you played Mississippi State one week, who runs the air raid, you played Georgia the next week, who’s gonna line up and 12 and 13 personnel and try to run the ball down your throat. So the variation and having a versatile scheme that can match up on all that.

“There’s unbalanced things in college that you’re allowed to do that you’re not even allowed to do in the NFL that we had to sort of see see what the trend was there. Mostly that type of stuff.”

So far, though, it appears Minter — and his family — have acclimated quite well to Michigan.