Jan. 29, 2026, 6:45 a.m. ET<\/p>\n
He coached notable players like Kyle Hamilton and Xavier Watts during his time with the Irish.<\/p>\n
The Notre Dame football coaching tree grew a pretty sizable branch on Wednesday evening<\/a>.<\/p>\n Former defensive backs coach Chris O\u2019Leary, who was the defensive coordinator at Western Michigan<\/a> this past fall, will return to the NFL as the Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator as reported by Adam Schefter<\/a>. Prior to being with the Broncos, he was the safeties coach for the Chargers in 2024.<\/p>\n Starting as an analyst in 2018, O\u2019Leary worked his way up the ranks with the Irish, then as a graduate assistant to the safeties coach. His rise was a quick one, as he coached both Kyle Hamilton and Xavier Watts.<\/p>\n O\u2019Leary has been coaching since his playing career ended, starting at Georgia State before going to Florida Tech. At this point, it\u2019s hard to see him not getting a head coaching opportunity at some point, either in college or the NFL.<\/p>\n Contact\/Follow us\u00a0@IrishWireND<\/a>\u00a0on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook<\/a>\u00a0to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.<\/p>\n Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.<\/a><\/p>\n Follow Mike on X:@MikeFChen<\/a><\/p>\n