Notre Dame safeties coach Chris O’Leary is reportedly set to depart South Bend this offseason for an opportunity in the NFL.

According to FootballScoop, O’Leary is expected to join Jim Harbaugh’s staff with the Los Angeles Chargers as their next safeties coach. This is a big blow for the Fighting Irish as O’Leary has become a key assistant under Marcus Freeman.

O’Leary has a prior working relationship with new Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. O’Leary was a graduate assistant at Georgia State in 2015-16 while Minter served as the program’s defensive coordinator. Minter was also Indiana State’s defensive coordinator while O’Leary was still a player at that school in the early 2010s.

O’Leary has been with Notre Dame in a variety of roles since 2018 when he joined the program as an analyst. He’s coached safeties in South Bend since 2021 and remained with the program after Freeman took over for Brian Kelly as head coach.

Notre Dame’s safeties have been exceptional under O’Lear’s guidance. The Fighting Irish’s safety produced a 1st round pick in Kyle Hamilton in 2022. This past season, safety Xavier Watts took home the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and earned unanimous All-America honors.

O’Leary’s departure has not yet been announced by Notre Dame.