Chris O'Leary / Notre Dame Safeties Coach

Chris O’Leary begins his second season coaching Notre Dame’s safeties, though his background with the Irish now has him entering his fifth season with the program.

O’Leary began as a defensive analyst for the Irish in 2018 before advancing to senior football analyst the following year. The chaotic 2020 campaign then saw O’Leary serve as a graduate assistant before he was selected to take over current Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea’s leadership of Irish safeties.

Before O’Leary found his way to the Golden Dome, he started out on the offensive side of the ball as a high school quarterback and a wide receiver for Indiana State from 2011 to 2014. While there, he was coached by former Notre Dame receiver Trent Miles.

O’Leary then began making his way in the coaching game as a graduate assistant under Miles at Georgia State for two years beginning in 2015. During his first season, he worked with the Panthers’ defensive line, followed the next year with a stint with the program’s defensive backs.

Those two years were under the leadership of Georgia State defensive coordinator Jesse MInter, whose father Rick twice was the Irish defensive coordinator. That led to the elder Minter then giving O’Leary an assistant’s job handling Florida Tech’s safeties.

Last year, O’Leary worked with Kyle Hamilton and D.J. Brown, with both players delivering solid results. Each player had three interceptions, though Hamilton’s season ended after seven games due to an injury. Brown helped blunt that absence with his best year.