Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter has completed another head coaching interview.
The Falcons announced that they have completed an interview with Minter on Thursday. The Falcons also interviewed Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley earlier in the day.
Minter has led the Chargers defense to a pair of top-10 finishes in points allowed in his two seasons with the club. The Chargers made the playoffs both years and that success has made Minter a popular figure in this year’s head coaching searches. He’s also interviewing with the Dolphins on Thursday and has met with the Cardinals, Raiders, Ravens, and Titans.
In addition to Minter and Hafley, the Falcons have interviewed former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, Seahawks defensive coordinator Aden Durde, Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, and Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver.
Chargers Clips
The Chargers have completed the first interview of their search for a new offensive coordinator.
The team didn’t have to look far to find that candidate. Their passing game coordinator Marcus Brady interviewed for the chance to succeed Greg Roman in the coordinator role.
Brady joined the Chargers staff as their passing game coordinator in 2025. He was an offensive consultant for the Colts for the previous two seasons and the offensive coordinator for the Colts in 2021 and 2022. Brady was the quarterbacks coach in Indianapolis before becoming the coordinator and he’s also worked in the CFL.
The Chargers fired Roman after being held to three points in their loss to the Patriots last Sunday night.
The Raiders have interviewed two more candidates for their head coaching job.
Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter and Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero are the new additions to the list. Both interviews were conducted virtually and both coaches will be available for second interviews after the divisional round since their teams have been eliminated from the playoffs.
Minter has received interview requests from every team looking for a head coach other than the Steelers and has been making the rounds this week. Evero has several requests as well, including one that the Steelers made on Thursday.
The Raiders have also interviewed former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, Broncos quarterbacks coach/pass game coordinator Davis Webb, Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, and Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.
The Dolphins interviewed Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley on Wednesday and they’re interviewing two more defensive coaches on Thursday.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that they will interview Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter and 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. The Dolphins have also interviewed former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski and Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.
Minter has been requested to interview with every team looking for a head coach other than the Steelers, but we now know he won’t be landing the Giants job. Saleh is set to interview with the Ravens and Titans this weekend.
Oddsmakers have pegged Hafley as the favorite to get the job in Miami, but the search process still has to play out before anyone is going to be announced as their new head coach.
The NFL previously applied the term “super” to the wild-card round of the playoffs. This year, the ratings were.
Via Sports Business Journal, the six games televised by Fox (which had two), CBS, Prime Video, NBC and ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 attracted an average of 31.9 million viewers.
That’s a 13-percent increase from last year, and the best since the NFL expanded the playoffs from six teams to seven in 2020, which grew the wild-card round from four games to six.
The total average is the best since the four-game format attracted an average of 32.6 million in 2016 for these games: Raiders-Texans, Lions-Seahawks, Dolphins-Steelers, and Packers-Giants. The smallest victory margin that year was 13 points, with an average score of 30-11.
This year, four of the games went down to the wire. Two of the games were lopsided.
The Ravens announced that they have wrapped up their 10th head coaching interview.
Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter is the latest candidate to meet with the team. Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz also had an interview with the Ravens on Wednesday.
Minter was a defensive assistant on John Harbaugh’s staff from 2017-2020 and then spent a year at Vanderbilt before joining Harbaugh’s brother Jim as the defensive coordinator at Michigan. He joined the younger Harbaugh in making the move to the Chargers in 2024.
Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, Broncos quarterbacks coach/pass game coordinator Davis Webb, Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, former Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, and Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores have also interviewed with Baltimore. Their General Manager Eric DeCosta indicated that the team expects to have around 16 interviews before whittling down the list of candidates.
Plenty of factors determine the audience for a playoff game. Generally speaking, the more exciting the contest, the bigger the ratings will be.
Of the five playoff games the NFL staged on Saturday and Sunday, the least competitive and compelling (by far) happened on Sunday night.
Still, 28.9 million tuned in for the 16-3 suffocation of the Chargers by the Patriots, on NBC and Peacock.
It’s a slight decline from last year’s Commanders-Buccaneers game on Sunday night, which averaged 29 million. And, frankly, this year’s number carries the benefit of the Nielsen Big Data + Panel bump.
But, hey, despite plenty of excellent, exciting, down-to-the-wire postseason games, some of the boxes on the Super Bowl Advent calendar still may have a candy corn inside.
Hopefully, all four games this weekend will be chocolate-covered caramels with a sprinkling of salt on top.
The Chargers will have a different look on offense in 2026.
Los Angeles has fired offensive coordinator Greg Roman, the team announced on Tuesday.
Roman, 53, was hired in the role in 2024 when Jim Harbaugh returned to the league to coach the Chargers. Roman was previously Harbaugh’s offensive coordinator with San Francisco from 2011-2014.
Los Angeles finished the season No. 12 in total yards and No. 20 in points scored. The club dealt with several injuries, particularly along the offensive line. But Los Angeles managed just 207 total yards in Sunday’s 16-3 wild card loss to the Patriots, which likely hastened the need for change.
Roman has also worked for Harbaugh’s brother, John, with the Ravens. He was the club’s offensive coordinator from 2019-2022, helping Lamar Jackson win his first MVP award.
Roman served as the Bills offensive coordinator from 2015-2016.
Additionally, the Chargers have fired offensive line coach Mike Devlin.
Los Angeles is likely to have two new coordinators in 2026, as defensive coordinator Jesse Minter is primed to land a head coaching job in this cycle.
Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter was expected to be a popular name in this year’s head coaching cycle and that expectation has proven to be correct.
Albert Breer of SI.com reports that Minter is set to interview with the Cardinals and Titans about their vacancies on Tuesday. He’ll then have a lot of other meetings over the rest of the week.
There was already word that the Browns, Ravens and Raiders wanted to interview Minter and Breer adds the Dolphins, Giants, and Falcons to that list. Minter is expected to make his way through the entire group with two interviews a day on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Minter’s defense was a major reason that the Chargers advanced to the playoffs the last two seasons and he ran the defense for Michigan when they won the national title in 2023. Given the level of interest in him right now, it won’t be a surprise if he’s running an entire team in the near future.
After the Chargers lost to the Texans in last year’s playoffs, veteran edge rusher Khalil Mack said he wasn’t sure if he’d play during the 2025 season.
Mack eventually signed a one-year deal to return to the Chargers and he posted 5.5 sacks to help the team return to the postseason. That trip ended with Sunday night’s loss to the Patriots and Mack is back to contemplating his football future for the second straight year.
On Monday, Mack said that he will “make a decision based on how I’m feeling and how my family is feeling, the vibes” and that he isn’t going to rush that call.
“You feel different in the sense of understanding how much time do you really have left to play at a certain level and what is that going to look like moving forward,” Mack said, via the team’s website. “You don’t want to make a decision based on how you feel in the present moment, especially after a tough loss. It’s about taking time and taking that step back. I feel like it’s the same in that sense, taking a step back and trying to really not put too much emotion behind the decision to do whatever it is I’m going to do.”
In addition to his pass rush ability, Mack was a key part of the run defense for the Chargers and his departure would leave a big hole for the team to fill heading into next season.
