Chris O'Leary 2023-24 Football Staff

THE O’LEARY FILE

Hometown: Terre Haute, IN
High School: North Vigo
College: Indiana State (2014, 2016)
Wife: Jessie
Children: Jack

PLAYING EXPERIENCE

2011-14 Indiana State Wide Receiver

COACHING CAREER

2015 Georgia State Graduate Assistant (Defensive Line)
2016 Georgia State Graduate Assistant (Defensive Backs)
2017 Florida Tech (Safeties)
2018-19 Notre Dame Defensive Analyst
2020 Notre Dame Graduate Assistant (Rovers)
2021- Notre Dame Pat and Jana Eilers Defensive Backs Coach/Safeties

BOWLS COACHED IN

2015 Georgia State (AutoNation Cure Bowl)
2018 Notre Dame (CFP Semifinal at the Cotton Bowl)
2019 Notre Dame (Camping World Bowl)
2020 Notre Dame (CFP Semifinal at the Rose Bowl Game)
2021 Notre Dame (Fiesta Bowl)
2022 Notre Dame (Gator Bowl)
2023 Notre Dame (Sun Bowl)

PERSONAL INFORMATION

• A wide receiver, saw action in 27 games at Indiana State and hauled in 47 receptions for 397 yards, while also completing 2-of-3 passes for 61 yards and one touchdown for the Sycamores.
• Graduated from Indiana State with a degree in communications in 2014; went on to earn a master’s degree in sports administration from Georgia State in December of 2016.
• A native of Terre Haute, Indiana, lettered three years for Coach Chris Barrett at North Vigo High School, earning all-state honorable mention, all-county and all-conference honors

COACHING ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Finished his third season as the Pat and Jana Eilers Defensive Backs Coach/Safeties in 2023.
• Oversaw the development of junior safety Xavier Watts into one of the top defensive playmakers of the year in college football, leading the country with seven interceptions while earning the Bronko Nagurski Award as the nation’s best defensive player.
• Watts became the first Notre Dame player to post back-to-back games with multiple interceptions, picking off two passes each in the victory over No. 10 Southern Cal and Pittsburgh. He then intercepted yet another pass at Clemson, becoming the first Notre Dame player to intercept a pass in three consecutive games.
• Watts was a two-time national defensive player of the week in 2023, which included his dominating performance against Southern Cal. Watts intercepted reigning Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Caleb Williams twice in the game, forced a fumble and recovered another fumble and returned it for a touchdown. He finished the season fifth on the Notre Dame team with 47 tackles and his 137 interception return yardage is the second-most for Notre Dame since 1996.
• Watts was named a first-team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America, Walter Camp and the Associated Press.
• Helped the Irish defense finish 21st in total defense (329.3 ypg) and 38th in scoring defense (23.0) in 2022.
• O’Leary’s safety group helped the Irish defense finish off the 2023 as one of the top overall units in the country. Notre Dame ranked first the country in pass efficiency defense (94.91), second in red zone defense (.706), fourth in pass yards allowed (154.2) and eighth in total defense (282.9).
• The 2023 defensive unit was not only one of the best in the country for the season, it is historically one of the best units the Irish have fielded in program history. The ’23 defense ranks among the top-six all-time at Notre Dame in eight different categories, including opponent pass-yards-per-attempt (1st, 5.4), total pass yards allowed (1st, 1,85) and opponent yards-per-play (2nd. 4.4).
• Senior safety DJ Brown finished fourth on the team in tackles with 48 stops during the 2022 season.
• During the 2021 season, he led the safeties group to a number of Top-20 national rankings.
• The Irish ranked 10th in turnovers gained (25) and third down conversion percentage defense (.329) and 14th nationally in interceptions (15).
• In 2021, he guided Kyle Hamilton to another All-American season through just seven games. Hamilton was also named a Bednarik Award finalist this season.
• Hamilton finished tied for the team lead in interceptions with three and he had his first multi-interception game of his career against Florida State.
• O’Leary also oversaw DJ Brown’s career-best season. Brown played in 12 of 13 games this season and is tied for the team-lead with three interceptions. Brown also has a career-best 42 tackles on the year.
• Promoted to Pat and Jana Eilers Defensive Backs Coach/Safeties coach in January of 2021.
• Previously served as a graduate assistant coach with the defense during the 2020 season, and as a defensive analyst on Notre Dame’s staff since his arrival in March of 2018.
• In each of O’Leary’s years with the program, Notre Dame’s defense has been among the nation’s best in several categories.
• In 2020, the Irish defense was one of the best in the nation defending third-down conversions, allowing just a 0.314 success rate (12th nationally).
• Notre Dame led the ACC in scoring defense (14th in the FBS), surrendering 19.7 points per game, and team passing efficiency defense (126.19) in 2020.
• In 2019, the Irish earned Top-10 standings in total fumbles recovered (19, first), takeaways (28, T-fourth), passing yards allowed/game (168.5, third) and team passing efficiency defense (110.15, fifth).
• The Irish ranked in the Top-10 of the FBS in fewest TD passes allowed (10, third), passing yards allowed/attempt (5.6, T-second), pass efficiency defense (105.6, sixth), fewest plays of at least 30 yards (17, T-10th), and fewest TDs allowed (28, T-10th) in 2018 during its first trip to the College Football Playoff.
• O’Leary was a graduate assistant at Georgia State for the 2015 and 2016 seasons, prior to coaching safeties in 2017 at Florida Tech.