The Los Angeles Chargers have agreed to terms with Chris O’Leary to be their new defensive coordinator, the team announced Wednesday night.
O’Leary spent 2024 as the Chargers’ safeties coach before leaving to take a job as Western Michigan’s defensive coordinator this past season. He will replace former defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, who was hired as the Baltimore Ravens’ head coach earlier this month.
During his one Chargers season in 2024, O’Leary was instrumental in establishing Minter’s defensive scheme. O’Leary was very hands-on coaching Derwin James Jr., who had a resurgent All-Pro season in Year 1 in the system.
O’Leary spent the opening portion of nearly every Chargers practice working one-on-one with James, running him through various coverage assignments. Those drills included reps at nickel, the position James has majored in over the past two seasons. Moving closer to the line of scrimmage more often has been crucial in James’ return to elite form. O’Leary was the position coach who helped launch this role.
In addition, O’Leary played a huge part in onboarding safety Elijah Molden after a late August trade in 2024. Molden arrived in Los Angeles 10 days before the Chargers’ opener against the Las Vegas Raiders. O’Leary was in charge of getting him ready. The two met for 2 1/2 hours each day over three days. Molden said then that O’Leary was able to install all of Minter’s playbook in those three meetings. O’Leary said he tried to make himself “available at all times,” which included texts, calls and FaceTimes at any hour.
Molden had an interception in Week 2.
“That’s my dog,” Molden said then of O’Leary. “He’s like a young uncle or a big brother.”
O’Leary worked for six seasons at Notre Dame before joining the Chargers. He first joined up with Minter in 2015 as a graduate assistant at Georgia State. Minter was then Georgia State’s defensive coordinator. Minter and O’Leary reconnected with the Chargers in 2024 when coach Jim Harbaugh was building his staff.
O’Leary was a coveted member of the Chargers’ defensive staff after the unit’s success in 2024. He left in the offseason to take the job at Western Michigan. In 2025, O’Leary’s defense finished ninth in FBS in scoring defense, allowing 17.4 points per game.
The Chargers interviewed some internal options for their open defensive coordinator job, including defensive backs coach Steve Clinkscale, safeties coach Adam Fuller and edge rushers coach Dylan Roney. It always felt like the Chargers were going to maintain some scheme familiarity, given the success Minter had over his first two seasons. The Chargers ranked seventh in defensive EPA/play under Minter, according to TruMedia.
In the end, the Chargers stayed in the Minter tree with O’Leary, a coach who showed a ton of promise and ability in his one NFL season.
