While Notre Dame continues looking for a replacement for Mike Mickens, one top candidate, Chris O'Leary, is officially off the board.
Mickens departed for the Baltimore Ravens late last week. While there haven't been many rumors about his replacement, it was expected that O'Leary would at least get a call.
Two years ago, O'Leary was a member of the Notre Dame coaching staff before leaving to join Jim Harbaugh's staff as the Los Angeles Chargers safeties coach. One year later, he left that staff to take over as co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Western Michigan. On Wednesday night, he rejoined Harbaugh's staff, this time as the Chargers' defensive coordinator.
Notre Dame DB coach vacancy: Mike Mickens to Ravens, Chris O’Leary now Chargers defensive coordinator
O'Leary replaces Jesse Minter, who left last week to become the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens. He then subsequently hired Mickens as his defensive backs coach.
O'Leary's hiring comes two days after the Chargers named Mike McDaniel their new offensive coordinator. Los Angeles will enter 2026 with two new coordinators, though both are considered among the hottest commodities in the sport.
In his lone season at Western Michigan, O'Leary's defense ranked ninth in the FBS and second in the Mid-American Conference in scoring defense (17.4 points allowed per game). It was also the MAC's second-best unit in total net yards allowed per game (305.5), which ranked 19th in the nation.
Before the Chargers and Western Michigan, O'Leary spent six seasons at Notre Dame, starting as a defensive analyst before eventually becoming defensive backs and safeties coach, where he worked with current Chargers cornerback Cam Hart.
If O'Leary was the top candidate for Marcus Freeman and Chris Ash, Notre Dame will have to go back to the drawing board. Of course, for now, it's not clear who is at the top of the list as the Fighting Irish have kept mum on any timeframe for getting Mike Mickens' replacement.