{"id":716563,"date":"2026-01-30T13:17:25","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T13:17:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/716563\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T13:17:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T13:17:25","slug":"la-chargers-hire-western-michigan-defensive-coordinator-chris-oleary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/716563\/","title":{"rendered":"LA Chargers hire Western Michigan defensive coordinator Chris O\u2019Leary"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">In a stunning overnight development, the MAC Champion Western Michigan Broncos are set to be on the look for a new defensive playcaller, as the Los Angeles Chargers have hired Chris O\u2019Leary as their new defensive coordinator.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">O\u2019Leary, who joined WMU\u2019s staff in 2025, had previously served as a safeties coach for the Chargers in 2024. O\u2019Leary will replace his former boss Jesse Minter, who was hired as the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens earlier in the NFL coaching cycle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The transformation Western Michigan undertook in one year under O\u2019Leary\u2019s leadership was nothing short of a miracle; the Broncos jumped from a moribund 118th in total defense in 2024 to 14th in 2025, while shedding their points allowed per game from 31.3 points to 17.3, finishing top 10 in the NCAA in points allowed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">WMU\u2019s defense was essentially unmatched in the MAC\u2014 especially in league play. WMU finished 19th in the NCAA in total offensive yards allowed (305.5), trailing only Toledo in the conference, while also squashing opponents in-league to an average of 14.5 points per contest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The Myrtle Beach Bowl was a showcase for the WMU defense, which put the smackdown on Conference USA champion Kennesaw State to the tune of six total points, seven tackles-for-loss, five sacks and three forced turnovers\u2014 including a scoop-and-score touchdown from 47 yards out and a 75-yard interception return touchdown.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">O\u2019Leary was also instrumental in the development of EDGE rusher Nadame Tucker, who went from a relatively unknown transfer portal product to the first MAC Player of the Year to play defense since 2018 after a monster season which saw him pick up 55 tackles, 21 tackles-for-loss, 14.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and 16 QB hurries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Prior to his first stint with LA, O\u2019Leary cut his teeth at the college level with Notre Dame as a defensive assistant from 2018 to 2023, working primarily with safeties and linebackers. O\u2019Leary is credited with the development of multiple future NFL draft picks, such as Xavier Watts and Kyle Hamilton.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Western Michigan, who expected O\u2019Leary to be back after <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WMU_Football\/status\/2006063067260457446?s=20\" rel=\"nofollow\">signing a contract extension with him in December<\/a>, will be searching for their third defensive coordinator in as many years. Scott Power, who held the position in 2024, left in 2025 to be the head coach at Division II Central Washington University, while Lou Esposito, a holdover from the Tim Lester administration, left the program after 2023 with the intention to join Memphis as a co-defensive coordinator before instead taking the defensive line position at Michigan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a stunning overnight development, the MAC Champion Western Michigan Broncos are set to be on the look&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":716564,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2064],"tags":[241,7,1014,262,2444,2443,3576,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-716563","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-chargers","8":"tag-chargers","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-los-angeles","11":"tag-los-angeles-chargers","12":"tag-losangeles","13":"tag-losangeleschargers","14":"tag-mac-football","15":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115984246337577582","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=716563"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716563\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/716564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=716563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=716563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=716563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}