Former Browns Player a Candidate for Defensive Coordinator Job if it Opens for Cleveland?

One former Cleveland Browns player should be in the hunt for the defensive coordinator job if it opens following the season.

Brandon Little | Dec 7, 2022

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If the Cleveland Browns make a change at defensive coordinator following the season, perhaps one name should be toward the top of the list. Jim Leonhard recently informed Luke Fickell and Wisconsin that he would be leaving the program.

Leonhard was the interim coach for Wisconsin this season and was a candidate to keep the job after Paul Chryst was fired. Wisconsin made what looks to be a good hire with Fickell, so that kind of eliminated that thought. Leonhard was able to stay on the staff but is going to look at opportunities elsewhere.

The former Browns safety very well could get a head coaching gig somewhere. His resume is good enough due to his work at Wisconsin. After finishing his pro career in Cleveland in 2014, Leonhard was with Wisconsin from 2016 until now. During that time, Leonhard was the defensive coordinator from 2017 on.

While at Wisconsin, Leonhard coached a top-10 national defense for four of his five seasons calling the defense. Wisconsin has forced the fourth most turnovers during that time in the NCAA, both are attractive stats.

There is no telling if the Browns will surely part ways with Woods or not to even be able to open the door for a replacement. The defense has played better as of late, though the real test remains ahead of them down the stretch. If they do make a change, Leonhard should be on that list of people to make sense for the job. He's 40 years old, an up-and-coming mind in the football world, and would likely mesh well with the Browns' defense.

If the head coaching opportunities don't come knocking, Cleveland should circle the wagon on this one. It would make sense on many fronts.

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Brandon Little is a writer for Sports Illustrated’s Browns Digest website and you can follow him on Twitter @BrandonLittleFB here. You can follow Browns Digest on Twitter here.

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