Damn you Harbaugh
Notre Dame safeties coach Chris O’Leary is off to the NFL and the Los Angeles Chargers to coach under former Michigan Wolverines head coach, Jim Harbaugh.
The Los Angeles #Chargers are expected to hire Notre Dame’s Chris O’Leary as safeties coach, sources tell @247sports.
O’Leary has coached players like All-American Xavier Watts. Has a longstanding relationship with new Chargers DC Jesse Minter.https://t.co/dJORJ80Uo5 pic.twitter.com/586NuO8sGN
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) February 11, 2024
Yes, I know this was announced this morning but your boy was knee deep in a wrestling tournament and it was Super Bowl Sunday after all — so cut me a little slack.
From what I can gather around the beat, Notre dame is expected to expand Mike Mickens’ role and he will coach both the safeties and the cornerbacks. Irish analyst Max Bullough (former Michigan State Spartans linebacker) will be the linebackers coach, which will allow for Al Golden to solely be CEOish as the defensive coordinator only.
Obviously this is a big move for O’Leary and we should be happy for him, but it is a a bit of a ding. O’Leary was a tireless recruiter and a well liked coach — plus we saw Xavier Watts go from being a guy just trying to become a fulltime starter to winning the Bednarik Award as the nation’s top defensive player. That’s a huge deal.
Notre Dame will likely release the official news sometime this week seeing as how there will be on external hire that will need to be vetted.