The expectations for Jim Harbaugh’s first season as the Los Angeles Chargers’ bench boss remain sky-high, with the former college football national champion joining the organization last month. Harbaugh and company continue to make headway on putting the coaching staff together, with another vacancy filling on Sunday. Per Matt Zenitz of 247Sports, the Chargers will hire Notre Dame Fighting Irish assistant Chris O’Leary as the team’s safeties coach.
The Los Angeles #Chargers are expected to hire Notre Dame’s Chris O’Leary as safeties coach, sources tell @247sports.
O’Leary has coached players like All-American Xavier Watts. Has a longstanding relationship with new Chargers DC Jesse Minter.https://t.co/dJORJ80Uo5 pic.twitter.com/586NuO8sGN
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) February 11, 2024
Alongside O’Leary, the Chargers have brought on a bunch of new personnel for next season. Los Angeles hired former Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman as their next play-caller. At the same time, Jesse Minter, Harbaugh’s defensive coordinator with the Michigan Wolverines, will reunite with his former head coach under the same job title.
Chris O’Leary: Heading West
A wide receiver for the Indiana State Sycamores from 2011 to 2014, Chris O’Leary turned 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 parting for Florida Tech as the safeties coach. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish poached O’Leary in 2018, where he became a defensive analyst. The Fighting Irish promoted O’Leary in 2020, with the Indiana native working with linebackers as a grad assistant. Notre Dame again changed his job title in 2021, where he became the defensive backs and safeties coach.
O’Leary has coached in seven bowl games, including the College Football Playoff in 2020. He worked hand-in-hand with safety Xavier Watts last season. Watts led the country with seven interceptions while winning the Bronko Nagurski Award, a distinction given to the country’s best defensive player. He also coached current Baltimore Ravens standout safety Kyle Hamilton in 2021. Hamilton earned All-American honors, with Baltimore selecting him in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft.
Los Angeles Chargers: Eyeing Defensive Improvement
Despite shelling out a significant part of their payroll on defense, the Los Angeles Chargers allowed 23.4 points per game last season, the 24th-worst mark in the NFL. Opposing passers tore apart the LA secondary, throwing for 4,246 yards and 26 touchdowns against nine picks. The Chargers have not had a top half-of-the-league defense regarding points per game allowed since 2019, their final season with Phillip Rivers at quarterback.
New safeties coach Chris O’Leary will help improve the secondary next season. The Chargers have a former first-round pick and three-time Pro-Bowler, Derwin James, at the strong safety spot. Meanwhile, unrestricted free agent Alohi Gilman played free safety last season. Gilman had 73 tackles, 10 passes defended, and two interceptions last year.
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