Jesse Minter addresses media, sign-stealing investigation ahead of Week 10
Jesse Minter is in his second season as Jim Harbaugh’s defensive coordinator as one of the up-and-coming assistant coaches in the country. This season, Minter also had the chance to serve one game as the interim head coach for the program, leading a season-opening win over East Carolina.
Since then, Minter’s defense has been dominant all season long. The Wolverines have yet to allow an opponent to score more than 10 points, and Michigan currently leads the nation with 5.9 points allowed per game.
On Wednesday, Minter met with the media as the Wolverines are coming off a bye week and prepare to face Purdue on Saturday. The topic of Michigan’s ongoing NCAA investigation was brought up, but Minter admitted he couldn’t speak on the topic while also saying he wished he could.
“I wish we could speak on it, but we can’t,” Minter said. “It’s fine. Like, it is what it is. When you’re at a job like this, there’s going to be good days and bad days. You owe it to the players, you owe it to the coaches, you owe it to the people that are really important to you, to do your job at a high level and to keep working. That’s what I’ve been able to do.”
That investigation is centered around analyst Connor Stalions and includes in-depth allegations of in-person scouting and the use of technology to steal signs of future opponents. While there is undoubtedly a lot of noise outside the program, Minter said he is trying to stay focused on the task at hand.
“I’ve been trying to stay focused,” Minter explained. “If we want the players to stay focused, we’ve got to stay focused. And so, trying to be that one-track mind for them and let the chips fall where they may.”
The “one-track mind” is similar to what head coach Jim Harbaugh said at his Monday press conference as he tries to push the program forward from the bye week. Michigan also landed at No. 3 in the initial CFP rankings Tuesday night while the leaders of the CFP committee said the ongoing NCAA investigation is not considered in the process of ranking the Wolverines.
