The Chargers lost their highly-regarded defensive coordinator last week when Jesse Minter was hired as the Ravens’ new head coach. The search for his replacement continues. 
Los Angeles announced on Monday that an interview has taken place with one of the team’s top internal candidates. Outside linebackers coach Dylan Roney met with the Chargers for their DC gig. This is the first coordinator posting he has been linked to.
The Chargers have already interviewed three other staffers, although one of them (Dennard Wilson) is no longer on the market. Another two outside options – Zach Orr (Ravens) and Aubrey Pleasants (Rams) – have spoken with the team. It would come as little surprise if the Bolts looked internally to replace Minter, with defensive backs coach Steve Clinkscale a name to watch on that front.
Clinkscale and Minter both spent time working under Jim Harbaugh at Michigan before following him to Los Angeles in 2024. Roney took that same route, working as a graduate assistant from 2021-23 on the Wolverines’ staff. He then became a defensive assistant with the Chargers during Harbaugh’s first season back in the NFL. Roney took on his current role ahead of the 2025 season.
Los Angeles posted 45 sacks this year, with much of that production coming from the team’s OLBs. Tuli Tuipulotu totaled a career-high 13 sacks, earning a Pro Bowl nod along the way. Khalil Mack chipped in as well, while midseason trade acquisition Odafe Oweh posted 7.5 sacks in 12 games after being held without one in five Ravens contests to begin the season. That success has no doubt helped Roney’s stock regarding a promotion or at least a lengthy tenure on the Chargers’ staff.
Mike McDaniel was officially hired on Monday to fill Los Angeles’ offensive coordinator vacancy. Attention will now increasingly turn to the DC position, with Roney a staffer to watch as Harbaugh weighs his options.