The Las Vegas Raiders have entered a critical phase in their head coaching search, conducting second interviews with Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter and Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero. The moves signal a serious look at defensive-minded candidates despite public speculation that the team would pursue an offensive coach to pair with a potential new quarterback.
Nine of the 14 candidates the Raiders have interviewed so far come from offensive backgrounds, but the organization’s brain trust is also spending time in South Florida scouting Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza at the national championship game while meeting with top defensive coaches.
Minter, 42, has been in demand this hiring cycle after leading the Chargers to a second consecutive postseason appearance in two years on the job. He came to Los Angeles with Jim Harbaugh two years ago after they won a national championship at Michigan, where Minter was defensive coordinator. His father, Rick, was head coach at Cincinnati for a decade and currently serves as a senior defensive analyst for the Chargers. Minter played wide receiver in college at Mount St. Joseph and entered coaching at the collegiate level, working at Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Georgia State and Indiana State before joining the Baltimore Ravens in 2017. He later served as Vanderbilt’s defensive coordinator. Notably, Minter had a show-cause penalty imposed by the NCAA in April, but the NFL does not enforce those sanctions.
Evero, 45, was born in England and raised in Rancho Cucamonga, California. He signed with the Raiders as an undrafted free agent after playing safety at UC Davis but didn’t make the team and returned to Davis as an assistant coach. His NFL coaching career includes stints with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Francisco 49ers, Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams before he became defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos in 2022. He spent one season there before taking the same role with the Panthers in 2023, producing two top-10 defenses in four years as a coordinator.
Raiders minority owner Tom Brady and general manager John Spytek played together at Michigan, potentially linking them to Minter.
Meanwhile, former Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, one of the offensive-minded candidates who had spoken to the Raiders, is off the market. McDaniel is on the verge of becoming the Chargers’ offensive coordinator and told the Cleveland Browns on Tuesday he was withdrawing from consideration for their head coaching job. The Raiders had interviewed McDaniel in Miami a day earlier. McDaniel had also been connected to the Ravens’ head coaching job and offensive coordinator openings in Detroit, Tampa Bay, Philadelphia and Tennessee.
