Jim Harbaugh, the former college football national champion who joined the Los Angeles Chargers last month, has
sky-high expectations for his debut season as head coach. Harbaugh and company are making progress in
assembling the coaching staff, with another position being filled on Sunday. According to Matt Zenitz of 247Sports,
the Chargers will hire Notre Dame Fighting Irish assistant Chris O’Leary as the team’s safeties coach.
Along with O’Leary, the Chargers have added a number of new players for next season. Los Angeles has signed Greg
Roman, the former Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator, as their next play-caller. At the same time, Jesse Minter,
Harbaugh’s defensive coordinator for the Michigan Wolverines, will return with his former head coach under the
same title.
Chris O’Leary, a wide receiver for the Indiana State Sycamores from 2011 to 2014, transitioned to coaching in 2015,
joining the Georgia State football program as a graduate assistant. He spent two seasons with the program, working
with the defensive line and defensive backs before leaving to become the safeties coach at Florida Tech. O’Leary
joined the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in 2018 as a defensive analyst. In 2020, the Fighting Irish elevated O’Leary,
who was an Indiana native serving as a graduate assistant with linebackers. In 2021, Notre Dame altered his job title
again, this time to defensive backs and safety coach.
O’Leary has coached seven bowl games, including the College Football Playoff in 2020. Last season, he worked
closely with safety Xavier Watts. Watts led the country with seven interceptions and was named the Bronko Nagurski
Award winner, which honors the top defensive player in the country. In 2021, he tutored current Baltimore Ravens
great safety Kyle Hamilton. Hamilton won All-American honors, and Baltimore selected him in the first round of the
2022 NFL selection.
