FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons are in search of the organization's 20th head coach in franchise history. The organization parted ways with Raheem Morris after the team's final game of the 2025 season. A new-look leadership group — including Falcons President of Football Matt Ryan — began the hunt to find his successor with the assistance of ZRG Partners and Sportsology Group.
"Our search committee will be structured a little bit differently than it has been in the past," Falcons owner Arthur Blank said Thursday. "[It will] still be made up of a component of people that represent our leadership in all areas of our businesses, but we're going to put heavy emphasis, we're hiring this president of football first. That's the goal, and over the next couple of days, we have a series of interviews set up. We want to get that person in their seat and have them lead the interviews for the head coach and general manager position going forward."
The Falcons will announce these interviews after they are completed with each candidate. We'll provide those updates here, along with relevant information and background about each candidate.
The NFL has specific rules for how and when teams can conduct these interviews. They are outlined here.
The Falcons have officially completed an interview with Jesse Minter for their head coach position.
Interview date: Thursday, Jan. 15
Current role: Minter has been the Los Angeles Chargers' defensive coordinator since 2024.
Resume highlights:
- Minter joined the Chargers with head coach Jim Harbaugh after the two worked together at the University of Michigan from 2022-23. The Chargers have since gone 11-6 in both seasons and made the playoffs both times.
- Minter coached the following defensive Pro Bowlers in Los Angeles: outside linebacker Khalil Mack (2024), defensive end Joey Bosa (2024), outside linebacker Tuli Tuipulotu (2025) and safety Derwin James Jr. (2024-25).
- Minter has primarily worked at the collegiate level, with 14 years of experience there. He was the Baltimore Ravens' defensive assistant from 2017-19 and defensive backs coach in 2020. The Ravens went to the playoffs three times during Minter's tenure.
Local connection: Minter was the defensive coordinator at Georgia State University in downtown Atlanta from 2013-16.
Why he's a candidate: Minter reformed the Chargers' defense within a season. The unit ranked 24th in points allowed the season prior to his arrival. It was the No. 1 scoring defense the very next season. A similar trend happened with yards allowed, going from 28th without Minter to eighth with him. The Chargers maintained a top-10 defense in Minter's second season, too. They were ninth in points allowed and fifth in yards allowed this past year.
The Falcons have a young and talented defense that could benefit from Minter's leadership.
Furthermore, Minter has spent time with both Harbaugh coaches, who have each found success in the NFL. As already stated, he's currently with Jim in Los Angeles. He was with John in Baltimore. Minter has surely learned valuable lessons from the two that would be beneficial to the overall success of the team, not just the defense.
Minter has been a part of various winning cultures, too. He has been to the NFL playoffs five times between the Chargers and Ravens. He also helped lead Michigan to a national championship title in 2023.
