The Chargers hired a new defensive coordinator this offseason in Chris O’Leary. General manager Joe Hortiz detailed how O’Leary landed the position to become Jesse Minter’s successor in LA.
«Well, his plan, his intelligence, his energy. We knew a lot of that from when he was here,» Hortiz said. «But his preparedness for the interview. I talked to Chris even before Jesse [Minter] actually got a job. I said, ‘Listen, Jesse has got nine interviews and we’d like to interview you if we can get it set up.’
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«We had a chance to interview him down in Mobile [at the Senior Bowl]. Just his energy, his creativity, his ideas for going forward. Not just, ‘This is what I did,’ but this is what he wanted to learn. He just did a great job,» Hortiz added.
O’Leary previously served as the team’s safeties coach in 2024, where he played a key role in helping Derwin James earn his fourth Pro Bowl appearance.
O’Leary spent the 2025 season as the defensive coordinator for Western Michigan University. His unit ranked in the top 10 national total defense (17.6 points per game allowed).
His rise in the football landscape began at Notre Dame, where he spent six seasons. He started as a defensive analyst in 2018, then was promoted to defensive backs coach (safeties) from 2021 to 2023.
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O’Leary has also coached at Florida Tech in 2017 as a safeties coach and Georgia State as a graduate assistant for two seasons from 2015-16.
While college football isn’t the same as the NFL, his previous stint with the Chargers should make a seamless transition to establish a culture on defense.
There’s much excitement surrounding the first-time play caller in the NFL, and it’s evident the Chargers believe O’Leary is the right guy for the job. The loss of Minter, who joined the Ravens as their head coach, is inevitably an obstacle, but O’Leary should utilize the foundation set by his predecessor and elevate the unit where he can.
This article originally appeared on Chargers Wire: Chargers’ Joe Hortiz details how Chris O’Leary landed DC position
