Chargers hire Chris OLeary as their defensive | College News
The Chargers are bringing back a acquainted identify to information their protection.
Chris O’Leary, who labored as the Chargers’ safeties coach in 2024 under coach Jim Harbaugh before spending 2025 as the defensive coordinator at Western Michigan, was named the Chargers’ defensive coordinator on Wednesday night time.
O’Leary helped information Western Michigan to a 10-4 document in the Mid American Conference Championship. His protection ranked ninth in the Football Bowl Subdivision and was second in the MAC in scoring protection (17.4 factors allowed per sport).
Before his stint with the Chargers, O’Leary spent six seasons teaching in different roles at Notre Dame, ultimately turning into a defensive backs and safeties coach. Before that, he labored under former Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter as a graduate assistant at Georgia State in 2014 and 2015.
Working under Minter again in 2024, O’Leary performed a function in the Chargers permitting just 17.7 factors per sport — the best mark in the NFL. Led by Derwin James Jr., the Chargers had a 75.9 passer ranking when focused, best for third in the NFL among security models in 2024.
The query is whether or not O’Leary can replicate the same success Minter achieved en route to touchdown a head teaching job with the Baltimore Ravens.
After working together to win a national title at Michigan, the Minter-Harbaugh mixture revived a Chargers protection that struggled under earlier coach Brandon Staley. Inheriting a group that ranked twenty eighth in yards allowed per sport (363) and twenty fourth in factors allowed per sport (23.4) in 2023, the Chargers moved up to eleventh in yards allowed (324) and first in factors allowed per sport. Last season, the group was fifth in yards per sport (285.2) and ninth in factors allowed (20.0).
The good news for O’Leary? Most of the Chargers’ top defensive gamers are returning.
The Chargers re-signed Teair Tart to a three-year contract Monday, conserving their anchor on the defensive line. The group has an estimated $80.5 million in salary-cap space, according to Overthecap.com, and normal supervisor Joe Hortiz said he’s planning to use it.
Re-signing exterior linebacker Odafe Oweh shall be among the Chargers’ priorities, particularly if pending free agent Khalil Mack opts for retirement.
O’Leary isn’t as high-profile a hiring as Chargers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, but he stands to take over a defensive unit that might make him look better than a $12,000 designer jacket.
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