New Chargers’ Coach Doesn’t Hold Back On Tuli Tuipulotu

New Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter is already loving what he is seeing from edge rusher Tuli Tuipulotu.

Tuipulotu is entering his second NFL season, and during his rookie campaign this past year, he played in every game and registered 53 tackles, 4.5 sacks, a couple of forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

It was a solid way for Tuipulotu to introduce himself to the league, and Minter is looking forward to coaching him.

“The cool thing about him is he’s a guy in college that they moved all over the place — off the ball, up on the edge, they even had him played out in space a little bit,” Minter said, via Eric Smith of the Chargers’ official team website. “You look at how he played his rookie year and I thought he stepped in and played really well for a rookie. Didn’t look like a rookie, didn’t feel like a rookie when you were watching him. He plays with the toughness and the physicality that we certainly want our guys to play with.”

Minter is going into his debut season with the Chargers after new head coach Jim Harbaugh brought him over from the University of Michigan.

Minter has quite a project on his hands heading into 2024, as Los Angeles ranked just 28th in defense this past year. Of course, a lot of that pressure also falls on the front office to make the right moves this offseason, but with the Chargers mired in a rather miserable salary cap situation, Minter may very well have to mostly make do with what he currently has at his disposal.

Fortunately, LA still has some pieces, particularly in the pass rush with Khalil Mack, Joey Bosa and Tuipulotu, whom the Chargers took out of USC in the second round of last spring’s NFL Draft.

We’ll see if Minter can get the very best out of Tuli Tuipulotu in 2024.

Los Angeles went just 5-12 this past season.