Former Notre Dame linebacker Jimmy Thompson is headed to the NFL, according to a report from CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz. Thompson will join the Los Angeles Chargers’ coaching staff after spending five years at Vanderbilt.
Zenitz did not specify Thompson’s role with the Chargers, but he was most recently the nickels coach with the Commodores.
Thompson, who was a walk-on with the Irish from 2015-18, joined Clark Lea — his position coach from 2017-18 — at Vanderbilt. He served as the Commodores’ nickels coach from 2024-25, following three years as a graduate assistant or defensive analyst. Previously, he was a quality control coach at LSU and the linebackers coach at his high school alma mater, Hinsdale (Ill.) Central.
With the Chargers, Thompson will coach under another former Irish assistant: Chris O’Leary, who coached in South Bend from 2018-23. O’Leary was hired as the Chargers’ defensive coordinator for the 2026 season after spending 2025 in the same role at Western Michigan.
Blue and GoldTop 10Top 101New numbers
Assigned for ND players
Latest from Singer
B&G writer column
Liking Notre Dame
View AllGet the Daily On3 Newsletter in your inbox every morning
By clicking “Subscribe to Newsletter”, I agree to On3’s Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
Notre Dame Tweets of the day
Two of the best defensive players in Fighting Irish history:
Jeremiyah Love: The tamper-proof superstar.
Hilarious This Is Football with Jeremiyah Love.
Did he get tampered with last year?
Yeah lmao.
But he ignored them.
“You hit me, I’m not responding. I’m locked in with the Irish and coach Free.” pic.twitter.com/sz0RdWEGxn
— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) February 5, 2026
The Irish had two Walter Payton Man of the Year nominees in Julian Love and Kyren Williams.
Quote of the day
“It hopefully builds confidence in us. I feel like there was a lot of fight in the Cal game. They shot the ball really, really well. Stanford, I feel like we countered their runs when they made their runs and I feel like we managed and controlled that game. Dominated on the boards.
“So I’m praying that the energy and the performance we had on Sunday can carry over to [Thursday] versus Virginia Tech and we just continue to build and grow from the way we played for 40 minutes because I thought that was one of our most complete games this season.”
— Notre Dame head women’s basketball coach Niele Ivey, whose prayers were answered. The Irish defeated Virginia Tech 80-70.
Headlines of the day