Chris O'Leary has worked overtime this season.
The Chargers safeties coach has played a key role in getting multiple players up to speed on short notices and has elevated a position group that has been a strength for the Bolts this season.
O'Leary, who previously worked at Notre Dame, joined the Chargers in February.
Here is our Coaches' Corner with O'Leary:
Thanks for your time, Chris. How is your first season in the NFL going?
"Great. It's been a lot of fun. I think the guys I get to work with every day, the players, the staff, working with those guys and winning games it's been awesome. I've really enjoyed it."
What's been the biggest difference for you coming from college to the NFL?
"I wouldn't say it's a lot different. It's football and it's finding ways to execute, finding ways to win games. The thing I've really enjoyed is just how hungry the players are on a day-in and day-out basis. There's not as much needed to poke and prod guys, they come ready to work every day for the last nine months. I've enjoyed that."
How would you describe your coaching style on the field and in the meeting room?
"My goal is to give the guys ownership. So, give the safeties ownership and try to motivate or inspire them to run with it and really become the leaders of the room. We've gotten to a point where I think they've really taken ownership of their success, their failures. That will allow us to continue to ascend as the season goes. I would just say I lead them, but I try to take a step back an give them ownership of the room. Especially as they earn it and they can really take our room and our defense to great heights by themselves. I give them the tools, but I try to take a step back."
Do you only coach the safeties? Or what's the breakdown of your role?
"We always say we're DB coaches. We got Coach Clink, Muschamp, D-Gould, there's really four of us in that room. When we split up, I'll take the safeties, but a lot of times we're together and all four of us coach all the defensive back positions."
What do you like about working with Chargers Defensive Coordinator Jesse Minter?
"I love it. Competitive, sharp, he's brilliant as far as putting a gameplan together. He does a great job of game planning another team while keeping it simple for our guys so they can play fast. He's the same guy every day. He's loyal to the staff, the defensive guys. It's been a pleasure to work for him."
What have you learned about working with Steve Clinkscale this year?
"There's never a dull moment with Coach Clink. He brings the juice every day. We work well together, we're both passionate, we're both competitive. Over the last eight, nine months, we've really figured out how to bounce off each other and handle the room together. It's been a lot of fun."
It seems like Derwin James has really taken his game to another level. What have you seen from him?
"Elite. That's just the word that comes to mind. Elite person, elite competitor, elite football player. I've been around some really, really good players, some really motivated players. Nobody is better than him as far as every single day mindset. We always joke that we're addicted to getting better, he lives that. Every day he just wants to get better, and better. Not so much about the results, or the last game it's just chasing improvement. He's the best I've been around."
He's been playing in the box a lot lately. What about his skillset allows him to play there?
"He could play anywhere he wants [laughs]. The way our personnel is set up, that's where he's best, especially lately. I just think his mindset, his violence. The more times we could get him around the football, the better for our defense. Lately, that's been at the second level. That's kind of our mindset, get him around the ball as we can and right now, that's where it's at."
Elijah Molden came in late this year, but what's impressed you about him?
"We call him Coach E, he's basically a scientist out there. The thing that's impressed me the most is the way he sees the game. He sees it like a coach, talks about it like a coach, he will ask every question possible and then some that aren't possible. He's special, another reason I love coaching these guys because that's what you want as a coach. A guy that challenges you and doesn't just take things at face value, he wants to know why about every thing. That's fun for me. That's been the most impressive thing about him."
Are you older or younger than Tony Jefferson?
"I'm going to tell you the truth [laughs]. I would like to say that he's older than me. But I'll tell you the truth, I'm a little bit older, I think we're like a month apart but we joke all the time. I was at Indiana State balling and he was at Oklahoma making plays. A little different, but we're about the same exact age."
He's gotten on the field more lately but what's his presence like in the room?
"The ultimate professional. The way he's prepared, the way he's attacking every day when nothing was promised. He was on practice squad, at times there wasn't a way up and nothing wavered for him. It was every single day, approaching his work the same. When you do that and you don't worry about the opportunity, when it comes you capitalize and that's exactly what he did and he'll continue to do."
When Elijah got here, he talked a lot about how you helped him a lot get up to speed. How did you help Marcus Maye in the same way?
"I feel like those two deserve most of the credit. They're smart, they're professionals, they know defense like coaches. My role was just trying to simplify and allow them to play fast. Give them the cheat sheet and then every week just build more layers onto that. This week I would expect Marcus to handle more, I would expect him to know more. But as they get here and have to play immediately, it's more about giving them that cheat sheet and then building on it."
What was it like for you to see Maye get that interception in Atlanta?
"Exciting. I just loved it for him because guys go through different things but to be cut from a team, I'm sure he didn't feel any type of way but I know in my heart everybody has a chip on their shoulder. When a team picks you up and believes in you, it's always awesome to reward that team and I know he felt that way. He wanted to perform for his teammates and the guys that accepted him. So to see him get that pick was awesome."
We're in this final month of the regular season. What are you excited about with the playoffs potentially looming?
"Just the next game, the next opportunity. We're fired up, we like where we're heading and we feel like we still got a lot to prove. That's where my mind is at."
