The Los Angeles Chargers defense in 2023 was beyond atrocious. The Bolts couldn't do anything right on that side of the ball, and their game against the Las Vegas Raiders in mid-December was the nail in the coffin for the front office.
All blame was pointed at their head coach, Brandon Staley, who was fired a day after that embarrassing outing.
The Chargers' coaching staff is now entirely different. We all know about head coach Jim Harbaugh and what he is set to bring to the Powder Blue.
However, all eyes will be on the defense, a position that needs to get better. L.A.'s new defensive coordinator, Jesse Minter, will be tasked to guide the defense to become an elite unit.
Minter is set to bring a new element to the defense and lead this unit to great heights. It's a breath of fresh air after three seasons with Staley. However, some of Staley's elements will still be around.
The Athletic's Daniel Popper said Minter will implement Staley's disguise and post-snap rotations.
On the scheme side, one important facet of Minter’s defense is playing with disguise and post-snap rotations. This strategy is something Chargers defenders should be familiar with, as disguise was a big part of how former head coach Brandon Staley wanted to play defensively. Staley often discussed making things as difficult as possible for opposing quarterbacks by what he called “changing the picture.”
Under Staley, players were confused, which caused frustration and resulted in poor play. The Chargers were among the worst defenses in the league, primarily through the air.
The Bolts were 28th in opponent yards per pass, 29th in opponent pass yards per game, and 15th in opponent completion percentage. Granted, not all of it was on the former Bolts head coach, but he was brought to L.A. to turn the defense into an elite one.
The exact opposite happened for the Chargers.
Minter, on the other hand, led the Michigan defense to an elite unit. They were number one in opponent points per game, first in opponent yards per game, and fourth in opponent yards per play. It was a huge reason why the Wolverines were crowned champions.
Now, Minter will look to do the same in Los Angeles. Hopefully, he can master what Staley couldn't.
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