Even though Chris O’Leary might not be a household name around the NFL yet, there is plenty of intrigue in the role he holds for the Chargers heading into 2026.
"That was an interesting one," NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler added: "He's got familiarity there and they know him so that helps. I've heard great things about him."
The 34-year-old defensive coordinator was added as the team’s playcaller late last month after a season as Western Michigan's Defensive Coordinator. Jesse Minter is now the Head Coach in Baltimore.
However, O'Leary's impact was also felt in his one season with the Bolts in 2024, where he helped elevate the safety group and the team saw his work up close as a member of Minter's staff.
Although many might be unfamiliar with what O’Leary brings to the table, his main goal of keeping the foundation moving forward is one that was exciting to many experts at Radio Row last week.
"It's another one of those things where it's don't get in there and change too much because it was really successful," Yahoo Sports' Matt Harmon said. "One thing watching the Chargers defense the last two years, they just smother on those routes, I'm hoping to see more of that.
"They closed those windows quickly, you need to be quickly on your details," Harmon added. "For him, you just want to go in there and keep things as they were, but every year you're evolving and adding new layers."
The Athletic's Robert Mays added: "You want to try to carry over as much as you possibly can from what the defense has been the last couple of years."
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Take a look back at the best photos of the defense's 2025 campaign.
And it's easy to see why keeping a similar scheme in place is exciting — the outcome it has produced over the last couple of seasons.
The Bolts ranked sixth in defensive EPA per play (-0.069) and tied for sixth in success rate (42.1 percent) over the past two seasons. The unit was also third in total points allowed (641) over the past two seasons, which is good for 18.9 points per game.
They've done it with a number of impactful players who have come in as young players or had breakout seasons in this scheme and figure to continue to be contributors moving forward.
It's why the main reason ESPN's Ben Solak, who knows about O'Leary as a Michigan native 40 minutes from Western Michigan's campus, is on board with the hire to keep this momentum going for a unit that has been among the NFL's best.
"I'm excited about the O'Leary hire," Solak said. "You get the sense, from [Mike] Macdonald, to Minter, to that tree that trickles down, that this is a guy who's got sharp ideas and pushing the envelope in terms of what you're going to do with this defense.
"I also like being in this same language, being in this same system because a lot of the guys that have been successful for the Chargers — Daiyan Henley, Tarheeb Still — they need this defense to work," Solak added. "A lot of the young players that have been big draft hits for Joe Hortiz and have worked well for this defense needed this sort of system to succeed. It's a good, continuous hire."
Not to mention, Jim Harbaugh has quite a track record of identifying up and coming coordinators.
"To make an outside the box hire like that, to bring a college coordinator from a G5 program, considering Jesse Minter was just there, considering Jim Harbaugh was just in college, I see that and think, 'They see something in this guy,'" The Athletic's Dave Helman said.
The Chargers on Wednesday agreed to terms with Chris O'Leary to become their Defensive Coordinator.
The Chargers agreed to terms with Chris O'Leary to become their Defensive Coordinator.
The Chargers agreed to terms with Chris O'Leary to become their Defensive Coordinator.
The Chargers agreed to terms with Chris O'Leary to become their Defensive Coordinator.
The Chargers agreed to terms with Chris O'Leary to become their Defensive Coordinator.
The Chargers agreed to terms with Chris O'Leary to become their Defensive Coordinator.
The Chargers agreed to terms with Chris O'Leary to become their Defensive Coordinator.
The Chargers agreed to terms with Chris O'Leary to become their Defensive Coordinator.
The Chargers agreed to terms with Chris O'Leary to become their Defensive Coordinator.
The Chargers agreed to terms with Chris O'Leary to become their Defensive Coordinator.
The Chargers agreed to terms with Chris O'Leary to become their Defensive Coordinator.
The Chargers agreed to terms with Chris O'Leary to become their Defensive Coordinator.
The Chargers agreed to terms with Chris O'Leary to become their Defensive Coordinator.
The Chargers agreed to terms with Chris O'Leary to become their Defensive Coordinator.
The Chargers agreed to terms with Chris O'Leary to become their Defensive Coordinator.
The Chargers agreed to terms with Chris O'Leary to become their Defensive Coordinator.
The Chargers agreed to terms with Chris O'Leary to become their Defensive Coordinator.
The Chargers agreed to terms with Chris O'Leary to become their Defensive Coordinator.
Even for those pundits who might have not known a ton about O'Leary before he was hired, they have a lot of trust in Harbaugh to identify the coach for the job, even if he's under the radar.
They believe there's something with O'Leary that brings confidence he can succeed.
"This is the fun part about covering the NFL, you learn every offseason then August comes around and you really won't know until the games start. I do trust Harbaugh," The Ringer's Sheil Kapadia said. "He has been, in college and the NFL, he's got the rolodex that when he identifies someone. I trust him and give him the benefit of the doubt there. Certainly something we won't know until the games start."
Helman added: "We obviously don't know how well it's going to go and I'm sure he's got a big learning curve heading into the NFL, but I'm intrigued in a good way. For you to identify this guy instead of going with someone who's already in the NFL or a bigger name, it must mean Minter, or someone, saw something in him that made him feel confident about this."
As is such with any first-time NFL playcaller, we won't know anything for certain until the regular season kicks off next September.
But one thing for sure is the Chargers defense will have a number of eyes on them that are excited to see O'Leary and his unit.
"You're in wait and see mode, but Jim has done a pretty consistent job of surrounding himself with the right coordinators over time," Mays said. "The fact he identified Jesse, Mike Macdonald was [at Michigan], the Harbaugh's overall deserve the benefit of the doubt when it comes to who's calling the plays on both sides of the ball."
Rapoport added: "The Chargers have done very, very well with first time NFL coordinators who are dynamic personalities, who can help them figure it out. To me, I think it was pretty promising."
