The Titans are adding a pair of defensive coordinators to their list of head coaching candidates and they play their home games in the same stadium.
According to multiple reports, the Titans have requested interviews with Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter and Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula. Both coaches will be working this weekend and will be available for virtual interviews next week.
Minter was installed as the early betting favorite to be the next Ravens head coach, but this is the first official word of an interview request this cycle. Minter was an assistant in Baltimore from 2017-2020 and began working under Jim Harbaugh at Michigan in 2022.
Shula, who is the grandson of Don Shula, has been on the Rams’ staff since 2017 and is in his second year as their coordinator. He was also college teammates with Rams head coach Sean McVay.
Chargers Clips
The Patriots added wide receiver Kayshon Boutte to the injury report Thursday. Boutte was limited with a hamstring injury after not being on the report on Wednesday.
It is unclear whether Boutte’s injury is an aggravation of the hamstring injury that kept him out of two games in November or a new injury.
Boutte missed Week 17 with a concussion but returned last week.
He has 33 catches for 551 yards and six touchdowns in 14 games this season.
The Patriots placed wide receiver Mack Hollins on injured reserve last week. Kyle Williams will be in line for a bigger role if Boutte can’t play.
Offensive tackle Thayer Munford Jr. (knee) was downgraded to a non-participant after being limited on Wednesday.
Offensive tackle Morgan Moses (illness) and linebacker Anfernee Jennings (illness) were back at practice and full participants on Thursday. Tight end Hunter Henry (rest), linebacker Robert Spillane (ankle) and linebacker Jack Gibbens (elbow) also were full participants after limited work on Wednesday.
Center Garrett Bradbury (illness), offensive tackle Vederian Lowe (illness), offensive tackle Thayer Munford Jr. (knee) and defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga (foot) remained out for a second consecutive day.
Cornerback Alex Austin (wrist), linebacker Harold Landry III (knee) and offensive lineman Jared Wilson (concussion) again were limited.
The Dolphins pared their list of General Manager candidates down to four on Wednesday and they’re moving forward with the next round of interviews.
Albert Breer of SI.com reports that Chargers assistant GM Chad Alexander and Packers vice president of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan are meeting with the team on Thursday. Both interviews will take place in person.
Sullivan had a virtual interview with the team earlier this week while this will be Alexander’s first meeting with the team.
49ers director of scouting and football operations Josh Williams and the Dolphins’ interim GM Champ Kelly are the other candidates still in the running in Miami.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert said he is rested and ready after sitting out last week’s game against the Broncos.
Herbert fractured his left hand in Week 13 and had played through it until being a healthy scratch on Sunday when the Chargers had only seeding on the line.
“I’d say definitely not taking hits on it last week was probably pretty helpful,” Herbert said, via Kris Rhim of ESPN. “It limited kind of the swelling and just getting back to making sure that you have got full strength, being able to hold onto a football.”
For the first time since his injury, Herbert took snaps under center in a Wednesday practice. He had avoided under-center snaps until Saturdays and game days to protect the hand.
“I would say that I was able to do most everything out there,” Herbert said of Wednesday’s practice. “It’s just making sure I can grip on the ball and have two hands on it in the pocket. . . . So I think that’s been good.”
Herbert made his second Pro Bowl after throwing for 3,727 yards with 26 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in the regular season. What he has yet to do is win a playoff game. The Chargers lost his first playoff start in the 2022 season when the Jaguars rallied from a 27-point deficit to win 31-30, and he threw four interceptions in a 32-12 loss to the Texans last season.
Brothers Jim and John Harbaugh are famously close, with their relationship put on display when their teams have competed against one another — most notably in Super Bowl XLVII.
So it’s no surprise that in his Wednesday press conference, as the Chargers get ready to play the Patriots, Jim Harbaugh was asked about his brother getting fired from the Ravens this week.
“John Harbaugh is the best coach I know, the best coach I’ve ever seen,” Jim Harbaugh said, via Daniel Popper of TheAthletic.com. “Whatever team he goes to is going to be formidable, and I just hope it’s in the NFC.”
Jim Harbaugh also isn’t holding out hope he’ll be able to add his brother to the Chargers’ staff in 2026.
“He’ll be a head coach next year,” Jim Harbaugh said, via Omar Ruiz of NFL Media.
It stands to reason, however, that Jim Harbaugh could get a little advice from his brother on Los Angeles’ wild card weekend opponent. While the Chargers didn’t take on the Patriots during the regular season this year, the Ravens lost to the Patriots in Week 16.
The Chargers played without running back Omarion Hampton in Week 18 and they’ll kick off their practice week without him as well.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters that Hampton will sit out practice due to an ankle injury. Hampton suffered a fractured ankle early in the season and missed seven games before returning in December.
Kimani Vidal, Jaret Patterson, and Hassan Haskins are the other Chargers backs.
Edge rusher Bud Dupree, wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith, and safety Kendall Williamson will also miss practice. Left tackle Jemaree Salyer, safety Elijah Molden, center Bradley Bozeman, and cornerback Donte Jackson are all set to practice. Tight end Tucker Fisk is also set to practice and open the window for his return from injured reserve.
The team’s injury report will bring further word on their participation levels.
A day after John Harbaugh was fired, Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter has emerged as the early favorite to be the next head coach of the Baltimore Ravens.
Minter has been on Jim Harbaugh’s staff in Los Angeles for the last two years and worked for him as the defensive coordinator at Michigan for two years before that. He previously spent four years as a defensive assistant to John Harbaugh on the Ravens.
The current odds have Minter at +250, followed by former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski at +350 and Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken at +450.
The 42-year-old Minter has never been a head coach, but he did serve as Michigan’s interim head coach for one game in 2023, when Jim Harbaugh was serving a suspension for violating NCAA recruiting rules, and he also briefly took over the Chargers’ head-coaching duties during a 2024 game when Harbaugh was getting checked out for an irregular heartbeat. Minter has been mentioned regularly as a candidate to become a head coach in 2026, and he’s expected to be a candidate for other jobs, in addition to the one in Baltimore.
The Dolphins have added another name to their list of General Manager candidates.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports that they have requested an interview with Chargers assistant GM Chad Alexander.
Alexander joined the Chargers after they hired head coach John Harbaugh and General Manager Joe Hortiz ahead of the 2024 season. He was previously the Jets’ director of player personnel and spent his first two decades in the NFL in the Ravens’ organization.
The Dolphins have also requested interviews with 49ers vice president of player personnel Tariq Ahmad, Eagles assistant GM Alec Halaby, Rams assistant GM John McKay, Packers vice president of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan, 49ers director of scouting and football operations Josh Williams, and 49ers assistant GM RJ Gillen this week. Interim GM Champ Kelly is also expected to interview for the position.
Home-field advantage might not mean much in the first round of the NFL playoffs.
Of the six games in the wild card round, the road teams are favored in four.
The biggest favorites are the Rams, who are 9.5-point favorites to beat the Panthers in Carolina. But that might be just fine with the Panthers: The Rams were previously 10-point favorites at Carolina in the regular season, but the Panthers won 31-28.
The Packers are 1.5-point favorites on the road in Chicago. It will be the third meeting of the two teams in the last six weeks after they played twice in December. The Bears beat the Packers 22-16 in overtime in Chicago in the regular season, while the Packers beat the Bears 28-21 in Green Bay.
The Bills are 1.5-point favorites against the Jaguars at Jacksonville. The Jaguars lost twice at home in the regular season.
The Eagles are 3.5-point favorites at home against the 49ers. The Eagles lost twice at home in the regular season.
The Patriots are 3.5-point favorites at home against the Chargers. The Patriots went 14-3 this season, but all three losses were at home.
The Texans are 3-point favorites on the road against the Steelers. The Steelers lost at home three times in the regular season.
If the betting lines are to be believed, only two division winners, the No. 2 seed Eagles and Patriots, will advance to the divisional round.
The NFL has announced the wild-card weekend schedule for Jan. 10-12:
Saturday, Jan. 10
4:30 p.m. 5 Los Angeles Rams at 4 Carolina Panthers (FOX, FOX Deportes)
8 p.m. 7 Green Bay Packers at 2 Chicago Bears (Prime Video)
Sunday, Jan. 11
1 p.m. 6 Buffalo Bills at 3 Jacksonville Jaguars (CBS, Paramount+)
4:30 p.m. 6 San Francisco 49ers at 3 Philadelphia Eagles (FOX, FOX Deportes)
8 p.m. 7 Los Angeles Chargers at 2 New England Patriots (NBC, Peacock, Universo)
Monday, Jan. 12
8 p.m. 5 Houston Texans at 4 Baltimore/Pittsburgh (ESPN/ABC/ESPN+/ ESPN Deportes; ManningCast-ESPN2/ESPN+)
