The Los Angeles Chargers have filled their final coordinator opening by bringing back Chris O’Leary.
The team announced Wednesday night that O’Leary has been hired as defensive coordinator. He spent the 2024 season on the Chargers’ staff as safeties coach under Jim Harbaugh and had most recently served as defensive coordinator at Western Michigan University.
O’Leary will take over a role vacated after Jesse Minter left last week to become the next head coach of the Baltimore Ravens, succeeding John Harbaugh following his 18-year run there.
O’Leary began his coaching career at Notre Dame as a graduate assistant and climbed the ranks from there. After a year with the Chargers, he returned to the college ranks last fall as Western Michigan’s defensive coordinator, helping the Broncos to a 10-4 season, a MAC championship and the league’s second-best scoring defense.
He’s the second recent coordinator addition for Harbaugh; the Chargers also hired former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel to run the offense. Los Angeles went 11-6 in Harbaugh’s first season but just missed the playoffs.
Both of the Chargers’ coordinator hires will be new to their roles with the team next season, yet Harbaugh appears willing to hand defensive play-calling to O’Leary in his first NFL stint as a defensive coordinator.
Fan Take: This matters because Harbaugh is clearly betting on coaching talent and fresh ideas to push the Chargers past the playoff hump—if O’Leary and McDaniel click with the roster, L.A. could become a much more complete contender. Conversely, relying on relatively untested coordinators at this level carries risk and could lead to growing pains that affect the team’s short-term ceiling.
