Jim Harbaugh had Jesse Minter and Steve Clinkscale installed as co-defensive coordinators for 2 seasons at Michigan. That could be a tell about where the Chargers plan to go at DC now that Minter has been named John Harbaugh‘s Ravens HC alternative.
The Chargers must interview a minimum of one external minority candidate before any Clinkscale promotion — a rumored Minter succession plan — can begin, and so they are moving on their DC search hours after Minter’s pledge to return to Baltimore.
Rams defensive pass-game coordinator Aubrey Nice has received a Chargers DC interview request, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. Nice has received a number of interview slips during his time within the NFL ranks; he’s now on stint No. 2 with the Rams. The Bolts cannot interview Nice until a minimum of next week, with Rams staffers on hold until their season is over or during their Super Bowl LX bye week.
Also a former Michigan assistant (but before Jim Harbaugh’s time as this system’s HC), Nice has been an NFL staffer since 2012. He served as Sean McVay‘s cornerbacks coach from 2017-20 and has been accountable for the Rams’ DBs since 2023. In between, Nice was on the Lions and Packers’ staffs. The Rams ranked nineteenth against the pass this season.
The Bears and Jaguars sent Nice interview slips last 12 months. The Rams met with him about replacing Raheem Morris in 2024. The Saints and Vikings discussed their positions with him in 2022. Back in 2019, the Bengals began his time on the DC carousel with an interview. None of those meetings has produced a hire, and the Clinkscale rumor could point to the Chargers following this trend.
Clinkscale has coached under Jim Harbaugh longer than Minter, arriving in Ann Arbor in 2021. He has mentored a secondary that has featured modest investments at cornerback and one which coaxed rebound seasons from the likes of Kristian Fulton, Elijah Molden and Donte Jackson over the past two years. Clinkscale, who can also be Black, wouldn’t count toward the Rooney Rule since he’s already on the Chargers’ staff. It would be interesting to see if the Bolts move quickly to advertise him or if this DC search includes a number of names.