Why Chris O’Leary’s first season as safeties coach was a gratifying one
You might say Chris O’Leary inherited a Ferrari.
The 30-year-old first-time position coach earned his shot at an on-field assistant job last winter, and with it came a potential top-five NFL Draft pick. Coaching at Notre Dame is never low-pressure, but stepping into a promotion with Kyle Hamilton involved ought to take away a bit of the initial stress. It is a comfortable landing for an up-and-comer who spent the last three seasons in various defensive analyst and graduate assistant roles with the program.
Well, it was until Hamilton’s awkward landing on a tackle attempt against USC. Out came fears that O’Leary was suddenly at the wheel of a jalopy.
Notre Dame’s safety play next to Hamilton in 2020 and parts of 2021 was not a strength. At times, it was a weakness. And much of the responsibility for replacing Hamilton during the season fell on O’Leary’s shoulders. The Irish still had College Football Playoff hopes, too. Talk about a 180-degree pivot from when he started.
Two months and six-plus games later, O’Leary sat at a table in the Irish Athletic Center second floor lounge, discussing how an injury that felt like a real-time nightmare in the moment turned into a navigable obstacle. An unforeseen cast of characters led by a coach out to prove himself withstood one hell of a haymaker.
“The way they took it on as a unit was the most fun I’ve had as a coach,” O’Leary said.
It would be unfair to Hamilton to say No. 5 Notre Dame (11-1) doesn’t miss him, because there is a difference between him and every other college safety. He’s a projected top-10 pick for a reason.
What’s also clear is Notre Dame enters the Jan. 1 Fiesta Bowl and the offseason with a few intriguing safety options for 2022 and beyond. One was a wide receiver in the opener. Another was a cornerback until November. A third was an anonymous sub-package defender in 2020 who endured a bumpy season.
For the uninitiated, that’s sophomore Xavier Watts, sophomore Ramon Henderson and senior DJ Brown. Add in senior and 11-game senior starter Houston Griffith, and that’s the quartet responsible for keeping the safety position afloat without its All-American.
“I love those guys,” O’Leary said. “When I get the opportunity to see them play more, that’s exciting for me. Whatever we lost with Kyle, I knew as a group we could fill in.
“But the challenge of that is you have to spend more time in the meeting room, you have to be a little bit harder on them in practice, you have to be more detailed in practice. For me, that was an opening to invest more time in those guys.”
Invest on the field. In film study. In strengthening relationships. If Notre Dame’s safeties were going to believe they could stabilize a secondary that lost a unicorn, their position coach had to as well. From a skills standpoint, he had little doubt.
Brown was first up in taking Hamilton’s spot, a deserved chance after a solid first half of the year. His tackling had improved. So had his self-assurance in coverage. Heading into the bowl, Brown is tied for the team lead with Hamilton in interceptions (three).
Sounds about right to O’Leary.
“Of anybody I’ve been around the last couple years, he has the best on-field football instincts,” O’Leary said. “That’s what allows him to make plays. His football IQ, his ability to anticipate what’s happening is as good as anybody I’ve seen. For him, the transition is doing it in practice and scout team to now when the lights are on, he does the same thing.”
Griffith, meanwhile, raised his hand to fill the leadership void without Hamilton, a team captain.
“Houston did a great job taking his vocal leadership to the next level,” O’Leary said. “He has always been smart and knowing what he needs to do, but he got bolder as the season went on.”
Watts and Henderson’s fast acclimation, though, might be the most surprising and encouraging of the safety developments since Hamilton’s injury. The roommates began the year as backups at other positions. Watts was off the radar at receiver. Henderson was the No. 2 boundary corner and part of the dime package. Not only did they need to learn safety, but they had to click with a new position coach to do it. Both happened in short order.
“He’s an energetic guy,” Watts said. “He’s really exciting. He takes his job seriously. He has done a really good job of helping us get up to speed and know the game plan.”
In other words, O’Leary’s players can sense his energy and connect with him. Those happen to be the two pillars of his coaching philosophy.
“Relationships with the players would be No. 1,” O’Leary said. “That’s kind of the way I go about business. I want them to trust me and see me as more than just a coach, that I can push them and challenge them to be the best version of themselves.
“Then just energy. I’m going to bring energy every single day, whether I feel good or not.”
He has a lot to feel good about these days. In the first year on the job, he helped mitigate the loss of an All-American with some written-off seniors and previously inexperienced sophomores who played other positions. That same crew has one more game to add to their argument that they’re not only capable replacements, but a fine foundation for 2022. All have eligibility for next season.
“It has been awesome to see,” O’Leary said. “We knew they were good players, but you always have a little bit of hesitation when they step in. Are they going to be ready for the spotlight? Are they going to do what they’ve done in practice in the game? They exceeded that, all those guys.”
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