Jim Harbaugh’s Quiet Coaching Hire Brings up Names Like Mike Macdonald

The Los Angeles Chargers didn’t earn much attention when replacing Jesse Minter.

Not hard to see why. Minter is a big loss. And the star defensive coordinator going to the Baltimore Ravens and his past roots was, honestly, one of the most predictable moves of the offseason.

The Chargers didn’t help things from a publicity standpoint by going way in the other direction with the hire of Chris O’Leary, who has all of zero household-name recognition.

But the name recognition only matters with one man: Jim Harbaugh.

That’s the biggest point of emphasis from here for the Chargers. The O’Leary hire wasn’t a splash and couldn’t possibly compete with the big-name hiring of Mike McDaniel for offensive coordinator.

But Harbaugh? He’s earned the trust.

Chargers’ hire of Chris O’Leary puts Jim Harbaugh in spotlight

O’Leary wasn’t a big name, sure, but it seemed telling that he worked under Harbaugh and Minter, went to the college level, then returned.

For some outside experts, it’s all about the coaching tree.

"I'm excited about the O'Leary hire," ESPN's Ben Solak said, according to Omar Navarro of Chargers.com. "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."

It’s hard not to like those name-drops. Mike Macdonald just won the Super Bowl after working in Baltimore and at Michigan. The Ravens hope Minter is the next big success story.

The Harbaughs sending positional coaches to the college level to get coordinator experience before bringing them back isn’t that uncommon, either.

O’Leary certainly seems like more of the same.

“I do trust Harbaugh," The Ringer's Sheil Kapadia said, per Navarro. "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."

on lock

we've agreed to terms with Chris O'Leary to be our defensive coordinator → https://t.co/njLqhRyboS pic.twitter.com/EKX2mQUpco
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) January 29, 2026

Rounding out that perspective on Super Bowl’s Radio Row, per Navarro, was The Athletic's Robert Mays: "You're in wait and see mode, but Jim has done a pretty consistent job of surrounding himself with the right coordinators over time. 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."

Continuity is a theme with O’Leary, no doubt. The players know him. He knows the system. Under his watch, guys like Derwin James expanded their versatile roles across the secondary.

In theory, O’Leary will provide the system continuity that allowed Minter’s scheme to get the most out of castoffs like Teair Tart and mid-round draft picks like Tarheeb Still.

If so, O’Leary is bound to keep ascending like some of the other names.

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