UW ranked third in the nation in overall team defense in 2017 and fourth in 2021. Leonhard announced in early December that he would not be staying on as Badgers assistant coach past the season, though he stayed on the sideline alongside Fickell when UW won the Guaranteed Rate Bowl over Oklahoma State later that month.Īs defensive coordinator starting in 2017, Leonhard oversaw thriving UW defenses that helped to make him a household name in Wisconsin athletics. When UW fired Chryst in early October - one day after a humbling loss to Illinois, no less - Leonhard was the obvious interim hire and appeared to be on track to get the gig permanently before the surprise announcement that the school had hired former Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell. More famously in his home state, he was offered the Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator job before the 2021 season but elected to return to Wisconsin, where he seemed like an obvious head-coach-in-waiting behind Paul Chryst. Leonhard has interviewed in the past for assistant positions in the NFL, including with the reigning NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles this offseason. Henry himself played football at Wisconsin, playing defensive back from 2007-11. Leonhard, the native of Tony, Wisconsin, who played at Flambeau High School and worked his way from University of Wisconsin walk-on to All-American and 10-year NFL veteran, will presumably work closely with first-year defensive coordinator Aaron Henry. He'll work on staff with head coach Bret Bielema, himself a former Badgers defensive coordinator and then head coach from 2006-12. Jim Leonhard, who served as defensive coordinator for the University of Wisconsin football team beginning in 2017 and then became interim head coach for seven games last season, has been hired by the University of Illinois as a "senior football analyst". Illinois is becoming a haven for the ghosts of Badgers past. Watch Video: Wisconsin players voice support of Jim Leonhard, satisfaction of win over Nebraska
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