Chris O'Leary stepped to the podium Tuesday at The Bolt.

The Chargers new Defensive Coordinator hit a number of topics as he spoke for 20-plus minutes.

Here are five takeaways from O'Leary's press conference:

1. A perfect fit

Chris O'Leary was back in a familiar place Tuesday afternoon.

Yes, O'Leary is the Chargers new DC. But he's also a familiar face around the building as he spent the 2024 season with the Bolts as the safeties coach.

O'Leary, who spent the 2025 season as Western Michigan's Defensive Coordinator, it was "a once in a lifetime opportunity" to have the chance to come back to the Chargers.

"Every day that I come in the building, it will be to make these players proud and give them something to aspire to and to go achieve and also to make them proud because they've given me this opportunity," O'Leary said of the Chargers front office.

As far as the timeline of O'Leary's hire, he said it all seemed to happen at warp speed.

The Chargers announced January 28 that they had agreed to terms with O'Leary only four hours after announcing they had completed an interview with him.

"When [Jesse Minter] took the Baltimore job I talked to [Chargers General Manager] Joe [Hortiz] and talked to some other people, went through the interview process and it happened pretty quick," O'Leary said.

And while O'Leary's hire may have been a surprise to some, it wasn't for the 34-year-old.

"I have the confidence in myself that the foundation of this defense, what makes this defense special and different, I own those areas," O'Leary said. "I feel I have a mastery of those areas."

He later added: "The things that separate, I feel really strong about those and what it takes to evolve those and elevate those … I have a lot of confidence to do this. I think I'm the right man for the job."

O'Leary, of course, also faced questions about the transition he now faces with coaches and players who were here with him in 2025.

From a coaching staff standpoint, he now leads a staff with people he was peers with in 2024. And from a roster standpoint, he is now in charge of an entire defense rather than just the secondary.

He said he has "100 percent" thought about both areas.

"I think as a coach, you want to win, that's Step 1. Step 2, you want to be respected along with that and you want to feel like you're growing as a coach as well. For me, that's my job," O'Leary said. "We're going to do things in order to win, they already have my respect and I'm going to put them in position to grow as coaches."

He later added: "Things I learned through the journey, and ultimately it starts with respect from peer to peer and being decisive and making sure the vision is set every day."

But make no mistake about it.

Both O'Leary and the Chargers are fired up for the future and the potential of the Bolts defense.

"It's been incredible," O'Leary said about his first week back with the Chargers. "I think the thing I appreciated the most in my time here is that you're around people that want to be the best version of themselves, they want to be elite.

"They're elite competitors, and that's from coaches, front office, the players," O'Leary added. "They demand your best and they demand excellence. For me, walking into that environment every day is really what drives me."

2. A similar scheme?

The Chargers have been one of the NFL's top defenses over the past two seasons, including in 2024 when O'Leary was on staff.

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.

And the Chargers were third in total points allowed (641) over the past two seasons, which equates to just 18.9 points per game.

O'Leary said Tuesday that he doesn't plan on any radical changes to what the Bolts already have in place on defense.

"The two things we're going to focus on, No. 1 we're going to elevate what we do well. The foundation of our defense, we're going to elevate that," O'Leary said. "We're going to do what we do better.

"The second thing we're going to do is we're going to evolve the defense. We're going to add things, we're going to tailor things to the players, the personnel that we have going into the season," O'Leary added. "We're really focused on taking what we built and the foundation that's laid and taking it to another level."

O'Leary also noted that he implemented "a defense that was very similar" at Western Michigan than the one the Bolts ran under Minter.

"The core philosophy and fundamentals are what I picked up here in L.A.," O'Leary said.

Perhaps the biggest storyline going forward is how O'Leary uses Derwin James, who earned a pair of Second-Team All-Pro honors under Minter, including one in 2024 when O'Leary was his position coach.

O'Leary on Tuesday beamed at the idea of working with James again on and off the field.

"How excited? I can't put it into words. Me and him always talk about how we're addicted to getting better. Be the best. Every single day, you win, you lose, whatever … he's the ultimate competitor," O'Leary said. "Spending the year I did with him here — I hate saying favorites — but one of my favorite players I've ever worked with and coached because of how contagious his energy is and how great he wats to be. I can't put it into words and I'm ready to get started right now."

He later added about James' defensive role: "Attention to detail. Being better at what he already does. That's time on task, watching film, making sure we all speak the same language between the coaches that are in the room, myself, him. Just really streamlining his mindset and his process. To me, he's the best version of himself when there's clarity. We always say that clarity equals velocity, so if we give him more clarity then he's going to play faster."

O'Leary noted Tuesday that "there's a lot of really good personnel" already on the roster.

The question now becomes how O'Leary puts his own stamp on the defense over the coming months.

"I have to be the vision and I have to be the standard," O'Leary said of his new role. "Every day I walk into the building, people look to me for leadership, guidance, what's our plan, how are we going to win?

"As you do that, your personality and what you believe starts to come out. For me, it's just a day-by-day process … but we're going to be the best versions of ourselves every day," O'Leary added. "We're going to tailor things to our personnel. And slowly but surely, that will evolve and look different over time. But that's the starting point."

3. Time at Western Michigan

O'Leary is now slated to be a defensive coordinator for the second straight season.

As mentioned above, he spent the 2025 season as Western Michigan's defensive playcaller, which marked his first time leading a unit.

And while O'Leary said the chance to call plays wasn't high on his list of reasons why he spent a year in college, he certainly grew from the experience.

"What you learn is there's a flow state to calling plays. You have to have a plan for field zone situations, the style of play from the offense, how the coordinator likes to call the game," O'Leary said. "Just being able to do that, it's almost like you're in a lab when you're going through that. You're getting better and better and you're getting into that flow state.

"For me, that was Step 1, just being able to do that, to apply it and do it in real situations with pressure involved," O'Leary continued. "Then the second thing for me is every time you go on the field your job as a playcaller and as a defensive coordinator is to put your guys in an advantageous position.

"Whether it's allowing them to do something you're good at or putting them in position where the offense doesn't always have the pen last," O'Leary added. "They're not able to dial something up and scheme you up consistently. Going through trials and errors of that, through a 14-game season, it was incredible."

Western Michigan's defense allowed at least 20 points in their first three games of the season but opponents only hit that mark twice in the final 11 games of 2024.

Overall, O'Leary's ranked second in the Mid-America Conference in scoring defense (17.4 points per game), a mark that was also good for ninth in all the FBS.

The unit was also second in yards allowed per game (305.5) in the MAC and 19^th in the country allowing 179.9 passing yards per game.

What did O'Leary glean about himself in the year he was away from the Chargers?

"Constant demand is the main thing that I learned. Every team is different, the personnel is different," O'Leary said. "What works for certain teams doesn't work for other teams, so you're always evolving.

"Two phrases we use a lot in the staff room are 'Always evolve' and 'Constant demand.' Our culture, our expectation, how we teach our separators, our scheme, everything … every day we have to set the standard and demand that from our players," O'Leary added. "Then we get into games, it's like pressing play and is like autopilot at that point. As a leader, it's doing those things and creating genuine relationships — love, care — I'm invested in the guys in this building and I think they'll see that on a day-to-day basis."

4. Minter's guidance

As you can probably tell, Minter was a talking point in O'Leary's press conference.

The previous Chargers Defensive Coordinator, of course, is now the Ravens head Coach.

But O'Leary and Minter have known each other for over a decade from their time together at Indiana State.

O'Leary was a scout team quarterback who later transitioned to wide receiver. Minter, meanwhile, was a linebackers coach and defensive coordinator whose father, Rick, was also on staff.

O'Leary chuckled Tuesday when recalling those early interactions with the Minters, a run that continued at multiple other colleges, too.

"We'd joke about it a lot because I coached with them at Georgia State, Florida Tech, here … they always joked they knew I was going to be a coach when I would talk back to them in scout team when I'd throw a couple touchdowns or whatever," O'Leary said.

"I'd be talking trash to Rick and Jesse. That's kind of where they saw the competitive fire. That's my memories of that," O'Leary added. "I knew they were great defensive coaches and knew they had the competitive insanity that I have, so we kind of really grew a relationship."

O'Leary's first college coaching job came at Georgia State as a graduate assistant focused on the defensive line. Minter was Georgia State's DC at the time.

O'Leary on Tuesday recalled how he cut his teeth in those early days.

"Incredible growth. Fell in love with defense there. The first job I got was defensive line GA," O'Leary said. "I didn't know anything about defensive line. I walked in and every day was a struggle.

"You talk about stripping away ego, being humble, trying to find a way to add value to a room where you have no idea what's going on. That was my start as a coach," O'Leary continued.

"Through that season, the next season going to defensive backs, I learned competitiveness, passion, energy, violence within the white lines," O'Leary added. "Those things are what I love in football and embody who I am. That's really where my love for defense grew and the start of my career."

Minter's influence on O'Leary continued when the latter went to Western Michigan in 2024.

A core of Minter's coaching philosophy revolves around five defensive components — block destruction, communication, effort and angles, tackling and ball disruption.

O'Leary said he took those same principles to Western Michigan and will continue them here with the Chargers.

"It's fundamental defensive football. Wherever you go, that's Step 1 of creating an elite defense," O'Leary said.

O'Leary said he and Minter briefly spoke recently, with Baltimore's new coach advising him to "be myself" and "go be you and be great."

5. Possible staff changes?

O'Leary takes over a defensive staff that has seen plenty of continuity of late, whether it's Mike Elston, Steve Clinkscale or Dylan Roney leading their respective position groups.

O'Leary said Tuesday that he is "working through that" when it comes to his staff and added that he wants to keep the group as intact as possible.

"We have an elite staff. We've done defense at a really high level the last couple of years and if we get the opportunity to keep our staff as intact as possible, that's what I want to do," O'Leary said. "I have great relationships with these guys, I think they're the best in the world, they're technicians, they understand the defense, they understand the demands that we place on the players.

"I'd be fired up to keep as many as I can," O'Leary added.

One position coach O'Leary will for sure have to hire is at linebacker as NaVorro Bowman stepped down after the season to focus on fatherhood and his family.