Mike Minter
{{Short description|American football player and coach (born 1974)}}
{{BLP sources|date=October 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox college coach
| name = Mike Minter
| image = Mike Minter 061024-F-4692S-202 crop.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Minter in 2006
| current_title = Defensive analyst
| current_team = Western Michigan
| current_conference = MAC
| current_record =
| contract =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1974|1|15}}
| birth_place = Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| alma_mater =
| player_years1 = 1994–1996
| player_team1 = Nebraska
| player_years2 = 1997–2006
| player_team2 = Carolina Panthers
| player_positions = Safety
| coach_years1 = 2008–2010
| coach_team1 = First Assembly Christian
| coach_years2 = 2011
| coach_team2 = Johnson C. Smith (AHC/ST)
| coach_years3 = 2012
| coach_team3 = Liberty (ST)
| coach_years4 = 2013–2023
| coach_team4 = Campbell
| coach_years5 = 2024–present
| coach_team5 = Western Michigan (DA)
| overall_record = 49–66
| bowl_record =
| tournament_record =
| championships =
| awards =
| coaching_records =
}}
Michael Christopher Minter (born January 15, 1974) is an American college football coach and former player. He is a defensive analyst for Western Michigan University, a position he has held since 2024. He is a former head football coach at Campbell University, a position he held for eleven seasons.[https://www.si.com/college/fcs/news/campbell-camels-head-coach-mike-minter-resigns-after-11-seasons-fcs-football "Campbell Head Coach Mike Minter Resigns After 11 Seasons"] Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2023-12-19. Minter played professionally as a safety in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons, from 1997 to 2006, with the Carolina Panthers. He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and was selected by the Panthers in the second round of the 1997 NFL draft.
Early life and college
Minter attended Lawton High School in Lawton, Oklahoma where he started as running back and free safety. As a running back, he led the state with 1,589 yards rushing and 21 touchdowns on 187 carries as a senior. Minter also averaged 21 points per game in basketball. Minter then attended the University of Nebraska, where he was a member of both national championship teams of 1994 and 1995. He redshirted as a true freshman, and played backup safety his freshman year despite recording 21 tackles, two forced fumbles, and one sack. Sophomore year, Minter started the first two games of the season at free safety before tearing his left ACL, which took him out for the rest of the season. He played a key role as the starting strong safety for the 1995 national championship winning team, the first to win consensus back-to-back national championships in 40 years. He recorded 53 tackles, two interceptions, and deflected six passes. This earned him All-Big Eight second-team recognition. In his senior season, Minter started and played the first ten games at safety before moving to linebacker for the final two. He amassed 51 tackles, five interceptions, six deflected passes, and five quarterback rushes, which earned him All-Big 12 first-team honors.
Professional career
{{NFL predraft
| height ft = 5
| height in = 10 1/8
| weight = 188
| dash = 4.50
| ten split = 1.63
| twenty split = 2.66
| shuttle = 4.00
| cone drill = 7.23
| vertical = 36.0
| broad ft = 10
| broad in = 2
| bench = 11
| arm span = 31 3/8
| hand span = 9
}}
Minter was selected 56th overall by the Carolina Panthers in the second round of the 1997 NFL draft.{{Cite web |title=1997 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1997/draft.htm |access-date=2023-03-30 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} He became the starter in the team's sixth game of his rookie season, and remained there until his retirement. In his rookie year he posted 11 starts and finished second among defensive backs with 83 tackles, and also recorded 3.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles, 10 passes defensed and four quarterback hurries. In 1998, Minter missed ten games because of a staph infection that developed as a complication of surgery on his left knee. Following that season, Minter started every game of each year, except in 2001, when he missed the first two games because of an injury. In Carolina's appearance in the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots in 2003, Minter ranked second on defense and equaled a career-high of 18 tackles. Despite breaking his left foot in the third quarter, he stayed in the rest of the game.
In his 10 years in the NFL, all with the Panthers, Minter made 790 tackles, 9.5 sacks, 15 forced fumbles, 8 fumble recoveries, 15 interceptions, a franchise-record 421 return yards, and 4 defensive touchdowns, including a franchise-record-tying 2 in 2003.
On March 27, 2007, the NFL Network reported that the 2007 season would be Minter's last. ESPN.com reported that Minter retired after 10 seasons.
On August 7, 2007, Minter announced his retirement, effective immediately (as reported in The Charlotte Observer). His decision to retire early was attributed to continuing problems with his knees. Minter retired with team records for game starts (141) and consecutive starts (94), as well as for fumble recoveries and interceptions resulting in touchdowns.
= NFL career statistics =
| class= "wikitable" style="text-align: center;" | ||||||||||||||||
| rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team ! colspan="2"| Games ! colspan="4"| Tackles ! colspan="6"| Interceptions ! colspan="4"| Fumbles | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | |
| 1997 | CAR
| 16 || 11 || 69 || 53 || 16 || 3.5 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 2 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 1998 | CAR
| 6|| 4 || 26 || 19 || 7 || 0.0 || 0 || 1 || 7 || 7.0 || 7 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 1999 | CAR
| 16 || 16 || 95 || 74 || 21 || 1.0 || 11 || 3 || 69|| 23.0 || 44 || 0 || 2 || 2 || 30 || 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 2000 | CAR
| 16 || 16 || 125 || 91 || 34 || 2.0 || 7 || 2 || 38 || 19.0 || 30 || 1 || 3 || 1 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 2001 | CAR
| 14 || 14 || 79 || 65 || 14 || 0.0 || 10 || 2 || 32 || 16.0 || 30 || 0 || 1 || 2 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 2002 | CAR
| 16 || 16 || 85 ||66 || 19 || 1.0 || 9 || 4 || 125 || 31.3 || 62 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 2003 | CAR
| 16 || 16 || 97 || 77 || 20 || 0.0 || 8 || 3 || 100 || 33.3 || 35 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 2004 | |CAR
| 16 || 16 || 83 || 63 || 20 || 2.0 || 10 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 3 || 2 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 2005 | CAR
| 16 || 16 || 63 || 41 || 22 || 1.5 || 9 || 1 || 47 || 47.0 || 47 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 2006 | CAR
| 16 || 16 || 83 || 59 || 24 || 0.0 || 5 || 1 || 3 || 3.0 || 3 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||||||||
| colspan="2"| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/MintMi21.htm Career] | 148 | 141 | 805 | 608 | 197 | 11.0 | 69 | 17 | 421 | 24.76 | 62 | 4 | 11 | 11 | 30 | 0 |
After the NFL
Minter declared in 2009 that he was considering a run for the United States House of Representatives in 2010 as a Republican against incumbent Larry Kissell;[http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/story/1526450.html News & Observer: Ex-Panther Minter considering run for Congress] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090518005110/http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/story/1526450.html |date=May 18, 2009 }} however, he decided against running.[http://projects.newsobserver.com/under_the_dome/former_panther_wont_run_after_all News & Observer: Former Panther won't run after all] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304094525/http://projects.newsobserver.com/under_the_dome/former_panther_wont_run_after_all |date=March 4, 2012 }}
Minter had shown interest in being the first head coach of the Charlotte 49ers football team, which began play in 2013. The position, however, went to Brad Lambert, who previously served as an assistant coach at Oklahoma, Marshall, and Georgia. After spending one season as an assistant coach at Johnson C. Smith University in 2011, Minter was hired to serve as the special teams coach at Liberty University in January 2012.{{cite news |title=Gill announces new coaching staff at LU |first=Chris |last=Lang |url=http://www2.nelsoncountytimes.com/sports/2012/jan/06/gill-announces-new-coaching-staff-lu-ar-1591049/ |newspaper=Nelson County Times |date=January 6, 2012 |accessdate=January 22, 2012}} On November 26, 2012, Minter became the head football coach at Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina.{{Cite web|url=http://www.wralsportsfan.com/minter-to-be-named-new-campbell-football-coach/11813151/|title = Minter to be named new Campbell football coach|date = November 26, 2012}}
Minter also coached three seasons at First Assembly Christian School in Concord, North Carolina, where he won two state championships.
Head coaching record
=College=
{{CFB Yearly Record Start | type = coach | team = | conf = | bowl = | poll = no }}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Campbell Fighting Camels
| conf = Pioneer Football League
| startyear = 2013
| endyear = 2017
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 2013
| name = Campbell
| overall = 3–9
| conference = 2–6
| confstanding = 8th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 2014
| name = Campbell
| overall = 5–7
| conference = 4–4
| confstanding = T–5th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 2015
| name = Campbell
| overall = 5–6
| conference = 3–5
| confstanding = 7th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 2016
| name = Campbell
| overall = 5–5
| conference = 3–4
| confstanding = 6th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 2017
| name = Campbell
| overall = 6–5
| conference = 5–3
| confstanding = T–3rd
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Campbell Fighting Camels
| conf = Big South Conference
| startyear = 2018
| endyear = 2019
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 2018
| name = Campbell
| overall = 6–5
| conference = 1–4
| confstanding = 5th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 2019
| name = Campbell
| overall = 6–5
| conference = 3–3
| confstanding = 4th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Campbell Fighting Camels
| conf = NCAA Division I FCS independent
| startyear = 2020
| endyear = single
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 2020–21
| name = Campbell
| overall = 0–4{{efn|group=record|Campbell opted to play non-conference games in the fall as an independent, and declined to play in the spring season as a part of the Big South conference season.}}
| conference =
| confstanding =
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Campbell Fighting Camels
| conf = Big South Conference
| startyear = 2021
| endyear = 2022
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 2021
| name = Campbell
| overall = 3–8
| conference = 2–5
| confstanding = T–8th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 2022
| name = Campbell
| overall = 5–6
| conference = 2–3
| confstanding = T–3rd
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Campbell Fighting Camels
| conf = Coastal Athletic Association Football Conference
| startyear = 2023
| endyear = single
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 2023
| name = Campbell
| overall = 5–6
| conference = 4–4
| confstanding = T–6th
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = Campbell
| overall = 49–66
| confrecord = 29–41
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record End
| overall = 49–66
| bowls = no
| poll = no
| polltype =
| legend = no
}}
{{notelist|group=record}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://wmubroncos.com/sports/football/roster/staff/mike-minter/149 Western Michigan profile]
- [https://gocamels.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/mike-minter/817 Campbell profile]
- {{Footballstats |nfl=mike-minter |espn= |cbs= |yahoo= |si= |pfr=M/MintMi2 |rotoworld= }}
{{Navboxes
|list =
{{Campbell Fighting Camels football coach navbox}}
{{1994 Nebraska Cornhuskers football navbox}}
{{1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers football navbox}}
{{Panthers1997DraftPicks}}
}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minter, Mike}}
Category:American football safeties
Category:Campbell Fighting Camels football coaches
Category:Carolina Panthers players
Category:Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls football coaches
Category:Liberty Flames football coaches
Category:Nebraska Cornhuskers football players
Category:Western Michigan Broncos football coaches
Category:High school football coaches in North Carolina
Category:North Carolina Republicans
Category:Players of American football from Lawton, Oklahoma
Category:Coaches of American football from Oklahoma