Chargers News: Jesse Minter's First Message For LA Staffers Next Month
The Los Angeles Chargers brought in a new defensive coordinator after a disappointing 2023 season that saw them finish 5-12. New head coach Jim Harbaugh wanted someone he could trust, so he looked to a familiar face, Jesse Minter.
Minter was with Harbaugh at the University of Michigan, and the two men saw a lot of success together. They are coming off winning a National Championship with the Wolverines, and the hope is that they can replicate that success with the Chargers.
When Minter took over, his first message to the rest of the Los Angeles staffers was inspiring. It's not hard to see why Harbaugh wanted him to join him on this new journey
"Just really looking forward to working with the guys. No. 1, we just want to be really crystal clear in our standards that we're trying to uphold. Set how we operate in the meeting room, how we operate on the practice field. Just set really high standards for ourselves. To me, when you have high standards, your expectations will naturally raise because you really feel like you're working and getting better. It's hard to go the other way. It's hard to have expectations first and then try to figure out where the standards are. We want to set really high standards with the guys. But at the same time, we want to be really clear and consistent, be good teachers."
The Bolts have a lot of talent on the team but haven't had a coaching staff to put it all together. The organization hopes that is no longer the case, and the expectations are sky-high for the Chargers.
"Most of all, it's a relationship business and our success is going to be based on our ability to connect with the guys to get them to trust us, to get them to buy into what we're trying to do. Particularly early, it's a lot of, 'Hey, let's get to know each other, let's share our experiences, let's build this thing together.' Talk through all the different concepts of defense that we're trying to create here — and do it together — so that by the time we roll the ball out there in September, this is our defense. This isn't my defense or the coach's defense, this is ours and we did this thing together."
If the Bolts want to get back to playoff contention, it will take hard work. But they wouldn't want it any other way.
The satisfaction they will get from working hard to reach their goals will be worth it, and Minter will be at the head of that. Los Angeles has a lot of pressure on them this season, and they are ready to surprise some around the league.
