CB Coach Candidate: Jesse Minter
I don't subscribe to any premium services, but there sure is a lot of noise on Twitter tonight about Michigan hiring Jesse Minter as one of the defensive coaches (probably CB). His face is also front and center of Balas's ITF tweet. Minter is a 37-year-old and is currently the DB coach for the Baltimore Ravens, who had the #2 passing defense in the NFL this year (#1 overall defense in terms of yards per game). This was Minter's first year as the DB coach after he worked as a defensive assistant for four years. Before that, he was an extremely young defensive coordinator for Georgia State in their initial years as an FBS team. His defenses from 2013-2016 had the following FEI rankings: 119, 128, 57, 52. Their defensive rankings plummeted in the years after he left. Before Georgia State, he was a really young DC at Indiana State, where his defense was 3rd in the FCS in scoring and 6th overall in his final year.
January 14th, 2021 at 12:49 AM ^
Interesting. I am glad John is letting us raid his D coaches.
January 14th, 2021 at 1:25 AM ^
The word is they were both probably going to leave this year for promotions elsewhere anyways, and John thought "well if they're going to get promoted, why not send them to Jim?"
I know UGA fans wanted Macdonald to be Kirby's next DC. He might've gotten NFL DC interest too. Minter might very well rn both CBs and Safetes at Michigan.
January 14th, 2021 at 8:11 AM ^
Is it really a promotion to go from coaching DBs in the NFL to coaching DBs in college? Not seeing that aspect unless he gets a co-DC title along with it.
January 14th, 2021 at 9:51 AM ^
DC-in-waiting is exactly what I was thinking when I read said him possibly coming. I think it's going to be a thing.
January 14th, 2021 at 7:48 PM ^
This. Exactly what I thought. McDonald for 2 years and then he jets for a bigger gig in the NFL and it's next man up.
January 14th, 2021 at 10:01 AM ^
Titles aren’t everything. If these two will be given the keys to the defense and they turn it around, they are both setup for long term success in CFB which seems like where they want to be.
January 14th, 2021 at 12:50 AM ^
I should say Michigan POTENTIALLY hiring Jesse Minter. Sorry if that confused anyone.
January 14th, 2021 at 12:55 AM ^
What I know is that posters who wanted a younger, energetic recruiter will be somehow completely put off that Minter is an NFL coach with playoff experience and a highly ranked set of corners.
I also know that posters who wanted to ride or die with current CB coach Mike Zordich will be unhappy because, even though many had real concerns about this recruiting prowess, believe strongly that he was the key to Michigan landing not one but two five star DB's.
Finally, a third group will question why Michigan is not hiring an established "big name" cornerback coach because "Michigan, hur hur, unacceptable".
Every. Single. Thread. in some variation.
January 14th, 2021 at 1:04 AM ^
“And of course people who, in these many threads, have absolutely no clue what they are doing.”
January 14th, 2021 at 1:07 AM ^
Youth movement for recruiting is what I am seeing. I wouldn't be surprised if Magee and/or Dudek don't survive.
January 14th, 2021 at 1:12 AM ^
Thank god Dudek is gone. The staff has had three classes outside of the top 10 since 2017.
January 14th, 2021 at 1:17 AM ^
Is he gone? Please be true.
January 14th, 2021 at 1:26 AM ^
That would be amazing. Let's revamp the entire recruiting and scouting department and make substantial investments there.
January 14th, 2021 at 1:26 AM ^
Dudek is absolutely going to be at Michigan still.
Magee, who knows.
January 14th, 2021 at 7:11 AM ^
Bring home AK!!!!!!!
Cheers
<edat>Albert Karchnia
January 14th, 2021 at 8:41 AM ^
and beware the alphabet police.
January 14th, 2021 at 9:42 AM ^
Thank you for spelling it out, although I still have no idea who that is.
January 14th, 2021 at 10:02 AM ^
Google is your friend.
January 14th, 2021 at 9:25 AM ^
Well done with what people are going to say. Half this board if you gave them a million dollars they would bitch they don’t have 2 million
January 14th, 2021 at 1:05 AM ^
Yep, this one looks like it will happen sooner rather than later. Still shopping NFL CO-OC's too.
January 14th, 2021 at 1:10 AM ^
Weird that they are going so hard after NFL coaches when they can't recruit well enough as it is. They aren't going to scheme their way out of Ohio State having most of their roster 4/5 stars when Michigan's talent is not that.
January 14th, 2021 at 1:34 AM ^
Jeff Hafley spent 7 years in the NFL before returning to college at Ohio State. Remind me, how well of a recruiter has he been?
If John Harbaugh is singing his praises, he was pretty well-liked at Georgia, and the NFL is snooping around him to run their defense, then I am pretty at peace with Macdonald coming to Michigan. The Ravens have been a factory of churning out highly regarded defensive coaches.
Jesse Minter is the son of former Cincy head coach Rick Minter and was a defensive coordinator for a few years at Georgia State, where the Ravens apparently saw the potential in him and hired him.
He was also the Sun Belt Conference's recruiter of the year while their coordinator.
January 14th, 2021 at 2:17 AM ^
I'm starting to feel pretty good about these hires. I'm a bit concerned about Macdonald's lack of DC experience, but he'll be surrounded by Minter and Jean-Mary, who have both been DCs. Frankly, I'm a little surprised Macdonald would be the DC rather than Minter. I guess that speaks to how other coaches view Macdonald's potential.
The style of the Ravens defense seems like it would fit well with our personnel. Here's an article from last year about their schematic approach and how they were able to manufacture pressure despite not having a natural pass rush from the DL. I haven't watched much NFL football this year, but I assume the scheme is the same, right? If this is the scheme they would bring with them, I have to believe Daxton Hill would be pretty excited.
January 14th, 2021 at 6:35 AM ^
chunkums, thank you for the detailed look and for posting that article. for those that don't look, there's a chart measuring a metric of performance on D (pressures and blitzes), with the ravens at the upper right quadrant (best) of the all the NFL teams. anyone want to guess which team was the farthest away, in the lower left quadrant? you have to squint a little, but you already know the answer....
January 14th, 2021 at 8:03 AM ^
Hold on let me get my binoculars
January 14th, 2021 at 9:06 AM ^
Weird thing, I looked out my window and saw a flock of starlings in the exact same pattern!
January 15th, 2021 at 5:38 PM ^
I'm guessing the team that inexplicably thought it was a good defensive strategy to build a defense around recycled Patriot players, commit to never rushing more than four, ignore the defensive tackle position and exclusively play man-to-man defense. Yes, a man became head coach of an NFL football team promoting this strategy. Of course, there is only one franchise that would hire such a man..
January 14th, 2021 at 7:14 AM ^
From that article...
”Going back to our premise that coverage is the most important part of the defense and pass-rush can be manufactured”
Seems at times (especially last year) Don Brown’s premise was the exact opposite, as if pass rush were the most important part of the defense and coverage can be manufactured by forcing QBs to throw early and reducing the time required for DBs to cover before the ball was in the air. See how well that turned out for them, especially against teams whose WR/QB talent matched Michigan’s CB/S talent.
January 14th, 2021 at 2:46 PM ^
A great thing about this potential hire and scheme is that it has to appeal to Domani Jackson and any other top corners. I would think it would be great for Dax Hill too.
The concept of 7 hybrid players, all of whom will be blitzing, dropping back, playing zone and man and stacking the box has got to be attractive to talented corners with their sights set on the NFL.
I think it's an ahead of the curve response to the RPO spread.
January 14th, 2021 at 5:15 PM ^
Absolutely. I love the idea of trying to implement their scheme. Now, we need these guys to get to campus so they can start recruiting.
January 14th, 2021 at 2:47 AM ^
Deuce Rot Swazi?
January 14th, 2021 at 7:44 AM ^
Hafley was at OSU for a year. Can we actually say he's a great recruiter?
January 14th, 2021 at 11:09 AM ^
I think the perception is that he is killing it - relatively speaking - at BC as well. (Technically he has the #1 class in the ACC for 2022.... until Clemson, Miami etc. pick up a few more commits.)
January 14th, 2021 at 9:55 AM ^
This is UNACCEPTABLE. How did that go? Hur dur dur.
January 14th, 2021 at 6:13 AM ^
As Mike Valenti reminded us in the thread yesterday, Juwan Howard "has never recruited. Ever!" Before coming to Michigan.
I don't think being an NFL guy has any negative effect on his ability to recruit.
January 14th, 2021 at 7:48 AM ^
The concern isn't that being an NFL guy means you're a bad recruiter, it means we have no idea if they will recruit well or not, and it's a legit question. Although I'd generally think young and energetic coaches would fare pretty well.
January 14th, 2021 at 7:56 AM ^
This is where you lose me (not you specifically). Just because fans can't derive conclusions from a Wikipedia page doesn't mean a head coach cannot in a job interview.
January 14th, 2021 at 9:14 AM ^
A job interview with a head coach also can't tell you if they are a good recruiter. Only recruits can tell you. So unless a guy has proven he can connect with recruits its an open question.
January 14th, 2021 at 9:29 AM ^
Recruiting is selling. Selling yourself, an opportunity, a program, an atmosphere, scheme etc. You can certainly see those traits in a job interview.
January 14th, 2021 at 10:18 AM ^
I love that Harbaugh is going young with his coaching hires!!! Sure, some may have not recruited before but they are young and have street cred. Recruits flock towards that profile because there is a line of site to the NFL... one of the main things they are saying about Howard in basketball recruiting.
I for one want Harbaugh to succeed. He obviously loves Michigan and will do everything in his power to get us over the hurdle.
Time to support this team!
January 14th, 2021 at 9:47 AM ^
It doesn't mean they can either. Coaches often make bad hires. I can think of a particular dud hire just last year. There's nothing wrong with fans evaluating hires based on the info we have. I'm definitely not in a "just trust the coaches" mindset right now. We never know the reasons behind some decisions, but it's weird how coaches can be so blind to some things. Everyone on this board saw the disaster brewing at DT for years. Same with the OL under Rich Rod. I'm indifferent to these hires because I have no idea if they'll be good or bad.
January 14th, 2021 at 10:03 AM ^
Thank you.
One thing Harbaugh has consistently proven, if not to a fault, is that he is willing to retool his staff and go after/identify up and coming coaches. Also, talk about known quantities having had these guys on his brother's staff? I think that's perhaps not being given enough attention with these potential hires. The concerns about recruiting remain mystifying to me; young coaches who can sell NFL success to recruits? What's not to like about that, especially when we look at who these coaches are replacing?
January 14th, 2021 at 10:09 AM ^
Double post, my apologies
January 14th, 2021 at 7:14 AM ^
Weird that they are going so hard after NFL coaches when they can't recruit well enough as it is.
I'm not buying NFL guys can't recruit just because they haven't before. If you're good at your job, have energy, are personable, and even better young and decent looking, you're probably going to be a good recruiter, particularly when you're at a blue blood. Kids respond to those things and respond more now than ever having NFL experience. Putting on film the guys you coached last year in the NFL is something kids like to see because that's their goal more than ever. IMO recruiting is not the problem. It's scheme, fit, development, and retention. There is not a major difference between UM or OSU's talent from a team perspective in 2016/2017 and 2018/2019, yet the scores are significantly different. They may not have the talent to beat OSU with much regularity, but getting better at scheme, fit, development, and retention moves it from a blowout to just a loss, which most of us would take as a step in the right direction for now to build from. We just need to stop giving up 56-plus points. Hold them to under 40 and score 30 or more and those are clear wins for. I'd happily take a 40-30 loss in 2021.
January 14th, 2021 at 7:43 AM ^
Even more weird they bring their point up in this thread about a guy who was the Sun Belt's recruiter of the year a few years ago. (Yes I know BuT iT's ThE sUn BeLt)
January 14th, 2021 at 11:49 AM ^
You are mostly correct here. Recruiting is as much of a "want to" as anything else as long as you are a person that can connect with kids on their level and have some salesman in you. My son coaches in college and the reason guys are not "good" recruiters is they don't have the energy and that "want to". Recruiting is a grind. It's draining physically and emotionally, You have to be out there, in schools and living rooms, with your sales hat on every day it's allowed. Some coaches simply don't like to do that. Those guys want to teach technique and develop scheme, not schmooze some 17 year old kid and his parents and then text/call/DM them repeatedly through the week. That's what it takes to be a top recruiter.
There is nothing to say a NFL guy can't do that. It's just that we don't know if they are willing to do that until they do. I think the perception is most NFL guys feel a bit above it. They want to do all the on field stuff and not the other stuff that is just as important, if not more so.
January 14th, 2021 at 9:02 AM ^
Thad your ability to find something negative with each and every decision the program makes is a true gift. You're a party animal.
January 14th, 2021 at 2:09 AM ^
Very interesting. Out of curiosity, where would we find the space to hire another offensive coach? Would Minter coach all DBs rather than just corners?
January 14th, 2021 at 8:03 AM ^
Possibly:
HC/QB: Jim Harbaugh
Co-OC/WR: Gattis
Co-OC: To Be Determined
RB: Hart
TE: Moore
OL: Warriner
ST: Jay Harbaugh
DL: Nua or replacement
OLB: Jean-Mary
Co-DC/MLB: Macdonald
DB: Minter
I’ll tell you what, the Macdonald and Minter talk has done something to this Steeler fan I never thought possible... root for & celebrate Ravens success. While I’d love to hear the official hiring announcements made on Monday, I’d also like them to someday be in a recruit’s living room wearing a gigantic ring.
January 14th, 2021 at 10:24 PM ^
That's the same thought I had, let's make it somewhat official so recruits can watch the playoffs knowing these guys are on the way and cap it off with fat SB rings in living rooms next year.