Chris O’Leary takes charge: Why the Chargers’ new DC is no ordinary hire

Jim Harbaugh has completed his motley crew of coordinators.

When the Los Angeles Chargers’ brain trust was raided this offseason, Harbaugh moved decisively, handing the keys to a defense that became one of the best in the league to someone who already knew the engine inside and out.

Chris O’Leary was officially announced as defensive coordinator on Wednesday, and if that name doesn’t yet ring nationally, it will.

O’Leary’s rise through the football ranks hasn’t been loud, but it has been relentless.

He cut his teeth at Notre Dame, arriving as a graduate assistant and leaving six seasons later having coached in playoff semifinals, bowl games, and pressure-packed Saturdays. He learned how to build systems, not just call plays, and how to coach players who expect to win before kickoff.

That education followed him west.

In 2024, O’Leary joined Jesse Minter’s Chargers staff as safeties coach, quietly shaping the backbone of a defense that finished No. 1 in the AFC in points allowed. Derwin James didn’t just thrive — he flourished, earning another Pro Bowl nod while anchoring a safety group that hunted quarterbacks and erased throwing windows. When O’Leary’s unit was targeted, it slammed the door.

That’s why James was so excited when the announcement was made.

“Let’s go!” James tweeted with three lightning bolt emojis.

After his short stint with the Chargers in 2024, O’Leary returned to college football last fall to run Western Michigan’s defense, and the results were seismic. The Broncos went 10-4, won the first MAC championship in program history, and fielded one of the stingiest defenses in the country. That wasn’t smoke and mirrors. It was structure, discipline, and edge — the same traits Harbaugh demands of his defensive coordinators.

Now he’s back, replacing Minter, who left to become the Baltimore Ravens’ head coach in one of the offseason’s great NFL dominoes.

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O’Leary steps into a locker room already primed to buy in. Players wasted no time reacting Wednesday night on social media, celebrating the hire with unmistakable approval.

The Chargers are reshaping their coaching staff after losing coordinators to head coaching jobs, pairing O’Leary with new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel as Harbaugh’s top lieutenants. It’s a bold blend — and a calculated one.

O’Leary has never been handed anything.

A former college wide receiver at Indiana State from 2011 to 2014, he’s learned the ropes from all three phases of the game. Now, he inherits a defense that expects dominance — and a city that’s tired of almost.

The Chargers have reached the playoffs in each of their first two seasons under Harbaugh, but if they want to win in January and eventually reach the Super Bowl in February, they will need the help of McDaniel and O’Leary.