Without Loyalty to Wisconsin, Leonhard Could Emerge as Coordinator

Two years ago, Jim Leonhard turned down Matt LaFleur, who pivoted to Joe Barry. With an underachieving defense, LaFleur could be looking for a new defensive coordinator.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Jim Leonhard won’t be staying at the University of Wisconsin. Could the esteemed defensive coach stay in his home state to replace Joe Barry as defensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers?

Leonhard, one of the top defensive minds in the college game, replaced Paul Chryst as interim coach of the Badgers for the second half of the season. He went 4-3 but the Badgers last week chose Luke Fickell to be their new head coach. Leonhard will stay with the program to lead the defense for its bowl game against Oklahoma State on Dec. 27 before focusing on his future.

On Wisconsin! pic.twitter.com/lkgkPWmrO1

— Jim Leonhard (@jimleonhard) December 7, 2022

As usual, Leonhard will be coveted. After the 2020 season, Packers coach Matt LaFleur fired defensive coordinator Mike Pettine and twice interviewed Leonhard, who emerged as the top candidate, but Leonhard backed out due to his allegiance to the UW program at which he starred before embarking on a 10-year NFL career.

“Really, that’s it,” his Madison-based agent, Tim Valentyn, said at the time. “This is a rite of spring every year. There’s a laundry list of top-shelf college teams that come at him and he’s always really upfront, transparent, honest with them and with the university about the fact that, sure, he’s willing to listen and explore but it’s going to be a tough sell to get him out of here.”

Not anymore. Leonhard will be a free agent, and nothing that happened at Wisconsin this year has changed how he’s viewed by college and NFL coaches.

From 2017 through 2021 – Leonhard’s first five seasons with the Badgers – they ranked among the top five in total defense and top 10 in scoring defense four times. During that period, the Badgers ranked third in scoring defense (17.3 points per game), first in yards allowed (284.8 yards per game), first in pass efficiency defense (110.5), third in rushing defense (103.4 yards per game) and first on third down (30.5 percent conversions). Their 112 takeaways were tied for fourth-most among Power-5 schools.

After Leonhard turned down the Packers, his Badgers in 2021 allowed 239.1 yards per game. That was the fewest by an FBS program since 2011 and the best for a UW team since 1954. The run defense – a chronic black eye in Green Bay – was a fortress. The Badgers led the nation with 64.8 rushing yards allowed per game (second FBS program since 2008 to allow less than 70) and 2.12 yards per carry (best by an FBS program since 2016).

“I understand what UW is all about,” Leonhard said late in the 2020 season. “It’s home for myself. I grew up here. This was kind of the dream job to come back and coach. Also being on a lot of different teams, you just realize the culture is different every single place. Not bad. Doesn’t mean it’s bad or good. Just understand it’s different. There is a comfort level here, understanding what this place is about and how I’m allowed to coach and act and recruit. Kind of the whole big picture of what college football is.

“There’s other places that do it the right way, and you’d like to take that culture wherever you go. But I definitely understand what Wisconsin is. And a big part of me coaching is wanting to come back here and make this place better. I had a great experience as a player and want to give that back to the next generation.”

While Leonhard is a rising star as a coach, Barry’s defense has been a massive disappointment. Given one of the top defensive rosters in the NFL, Green Bay enters the bye ranked 20th in points allowed, 18th in total defense, 29th in rushing yards per play and 22nd in passing yards per play.

Green Bay was 13th in points allowed under Pettine in 2020 and 13th under Barry in 2021 before falling seven spots in 2022, despite the return of Jaire Alexander from a shoulder injury that cost him most of last season and with the addition of first-round pick Quay Walker.

“I wish I knew,” Barry said last week when asked why his defense had failed to meet everyone’s expectations. “I’ve stayed up many nights thinking about that and I wish it was one specific thing that I could put my finger on.

“I think for periods during games, we’ve played dominant. You could say, especially the last couple weeks, losing some players, not having some guys in there, you could say that, but everyone has to deal with injuries and everyone has to have that next-man-up mentality. So, there’s a number of things that you could put your finger on, but I wish I knew.”

A native of Tony, Wis., Leonhard went from walk-on to three-time All-American at Wisconsin. A 5-foot-8 safety, he finished his career among the school leaders with 21 interceptions. As a sophomore, he grabbed 11 interceptions.

Leonhard was an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played 10 NFL seasons for five teams, including starting 40 games for the Jets from 2009 through 2011. He grabbed a career-high four interceptions in a return to Buffalo in 2013 and finished his career with 14.

Barry figures to finish the season as defensive coordinator but, given the disappointing performance on that side of the ball, LaFleur has to at least be considering making a change as he looks toward 2023. If Leonhard was good enough a couple years ago, he’s got to be on the short list of potential candidates if the job indeed opens after the season

“It’s a huge opportunity, very humbled to be in the conversation for that position,” Leonhard said in March 2021 of turning down the Packers. “It’s an organization, obviously being from the state, I know a lot about and have a tremendous amount of respect for the way that organization operates. They are right on the fringe of a Super Bowl and have been for a while now. Definitely a difficult decision to have to make.”

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