MADISON, Wis. — Jim Leonhard sat inside the Residence Inn LA Live on a Sunday morning in 2019, three days before Wisconsin played Oregon in the Rose Bowl, and contemplated a question about his future. Leonhard, Wisconsin’s rising star defensive coordinator, already had earned his share of job opportunities at other schools three years into the role. Yet here he was, still with the Badgers and with no imminent plans for change.
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What could pull him away from Wisconsin? Was it a job in the pros? More money to be the defensive coordinator at another school? What about becoming the head coach of his own program? That’s when Leonhard delivered a nugget that continues to resonate.
“There’s only one place to do this job,” Leonhard said then. “That’s home. And that’s Madison for me. That’s the draw of staying with the Badgers.”
Over the next three years, Leonhard stayed true to that thought process, which was tested on multiple occasions given the interest his talent generated. Most publicly, he turned down the Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator role in February 2021, once again citing his love for Madison and a desire to return for “unfinished business” to help Wisconsin win a Big Ten title and a national championship.
But no decision had to be more agonizing than the one he faced over the past 10 days, when Leonhard needed to balance his strong feelings for the program where he played and coached with what ultimately was right for his long-term career plans.
Leonhard announced Tuesday night that he would serve as Wisconsin’s defensive coordinator through the Guaranteed Rate Bowl against Oklahoma State on Dec. 27 but would no longer be part of the program after the season in the wake of Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell earning the Badgers’ head-coaching job. It’s a decision that certainly came with great thought and one that had to hurt Leonhard in a way that will stick with him for years.
On Wisconsin! pic.twitter.com/lkgkPWmrO1
— Jim Leonhard (@jimleonhard) December 7, 2022
Leonhard took over as Wisconsin’s interim coach Oct. 2 after athletic director Chris McIntosh fired Paul Chryst five games into the season with a 2-3 record. Leonhard guided Wisconsin to a 4-3 mark, kept the program afloat during a particularly tumultuous time, helped the Badgers gain bowl eligibility for a 21st consecutive season and drew overwhelming support from his players to earn the full-time job. He reiterated on numerous occasions over the past two months how much he wanted to be the one to lead Wisconsin into the future and hoped McIntosh would offer him that opportunity.
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McIntosh instead decided on Fickell, going with seven years of head-coaching experience over Leonhard’s seven games and banking on Fickell offering Wisconsin a higher ceiling in its quest to compete for championships. The news must have represented a devastating blow to Leonhard, who likely thought he did enough to earn the job.
Fickell was smart enough to recognize Leonhard’s value to Wisconsin as a beloved players’ coach and one of the top defensive minds in college football. Fickell said Sunday night that he had “definitely opened the door for Jim to be here” but that he had left the exact format of the role vague given the uncertainty of how it might work with a new coaching staff. Fickell noted he met with Leonhard on three occasions to discuss philosophies and that there was no timetable or rush for Leonhard to make a decision.
“He’s had a million options and he’s got a lot of things that he could do,” Fickell said.
While Leonhard could have stayed, licking his wounds to carry on as Fickell did for five seasons at Ohio State after he was passed over for the head-coaching job in favor of Urban Meyer in 2011, the truth is this situation would not have been sustainable for Leonhard. Leonhard was hired by Chryst as Wisconsin’s defensive backs coach in 2016 and was promoted to defensive coordinator one season later. During the past six seasons, he had complete autonomy over Wisconsin’s defense under Chryst, consistently delivering with a unit that ranked first in the FBS in total defense over that time, third in run defense and fifth in scoring defense.
There’s simply no way Leonhard, who also coached the team’s safeties, would have been granted the same freedoms moving forward. The fact more than a week had passed and Fickell wasn’t sure exactly how all the puzzle pieces would fit together was telling of the dilemma everyone faced. Among the coaches Fickell already has brought with him from Cincinnati are defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Mike Tressel and co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Colin Hitschler. Both men already are out recruiting for the Badgers.
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Even though Fickell respected Leonhard enough to keep him on the staff, Leonhard’s role likely would have changed in a way that gave him less (or shared) responsibility, rather than more. For a man who has proven himself as a defensive coordinator and believed he was ready for a greater challenge, that was too much to overcome, no matter how much he loved the program.
This couldn’t have been an easy process for the 40-year-old Leonhard, who has a wife and three boys and built a house in the area. But nobody can blame Leonhard — who did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday — for deciding to move on given the circumstances. As has been the case in previous years, he should have ample opportunity elsewhere.
Baylor coach Dave Aranda fired his defensive coordinator last week. He and Leonhard developed a relationship when Aranda was Wisconsin’s defensive coordinator in 2015 and Leonhard watched film with him and picked his brain after Leonhard had completed his NFL career. Nebraska coach Matt Rhule has not yet hired a defensive coordinator among the five hires he has announced. Offensive line coach Donovan Raiola, a former teammate of Leonhard’s at Wisconsin, reportedly is being retained as well. The Packers could once again be looking for a defensive coordinator given the team’s struggles under Joe Barry. Leonhard also has earned the right to take time off and be choosy with his next destination.
Leonhard’s decision in no way diminishes the respect he has engendered at Wisconsin. His honesty, insightfulness and down-to-earth nature resonated with so many people. Players flocked to Twitter after he posted his announcement to praise him as a coach and as a man. Running back Braelon Allen called him “one of the best to ever do it,” and outside linebacker Nick Herbig said he was the “greatest Badger of all-time” both “on and off the field.”
THE GREATEST BADGER OF ALL TIME!!!! ON AND OFF THE FIELD💯💯💯 https://t.co/xUEs8fwqji
— Nick Herbig (@nickherbig_) December 7, 2022
McIntosh said during Fickell’s introductory news conference that Leonhard’s standing within the program had “grown beyond our imagination.” He noted Leonhard not only did an incredible job leading the program but “over-delivered” and said the decision to pick Fickell had nothing to do with Leonhard’s win-loss record and was more about Fickell’s experience and approach to creating championship-level expectations.
That may not make the pain Leonhard is feeling right now any better. But as Wisconsin prepares to move in a new direction, he should know that his selflessness, dedication and accomplishments with the program won’t be soon forgotten.
(Photo: Jamie Sabau / USA Today)
