Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard was about to take the same job as Matt LaFleur and the Green Bay Packers, but his love for the Badgers football program and his desire to stay in Madison eventually led him to to reject the offer on Friday.
Leonhard spoke with Tom Oates and Jason Wilde of the Wisconsin State Journal about this process and why he eventually decided to be in Wisconsin.
“I was the one to choose UW,” Leonhard told Oates and Wilde. “I want to stay at UW. I want to be at this level right now. Extremely flattering. Wonderful opportunity. But it wasn’t the right time for me to go back to the NFL. ”
Leonhard, 38, was a Wisconsin defensive back in 2001. He continued to be a three-time U.S. national team and three-time All-Big Ten before pursuing a 10-year career in the NFL. . In 2016, he joined the Wisconsin coaching team as a defensive back coach and was promoted to defensive coordinator a year later.
His ties to Madison are strong, but Leonhard said he was “on the doorstep”, signaling how close he was to the Packers’ job and even discussed contract numbers with LaFleur this week. The two met twice, once virtually and once in person, for Oates and Wilde.
Leonhard described himself as a “long shot” to let Madison into the process, but was intrigued by the opportunity to coordinate an NFL defense for a Super Bowl competitor and went through the entire interview process with LaFleur.
Eventually, staying with Wisconsin – and continuing to build and guide the Badgers football program while keeping his young family in Madison – prevented Leonhard from making the move to the NFL.
“I know the NFL. I know good, I know evil, I’ve been there for 10 years. I understand what the NFL is. It’s exciting. Right now, I feel like UW is the right place. I’m not saying it always will be. But right now, here I want to be, at this level, with this group of children “, said Leonhard.
Under Leonhard’s guidance for the past five years, the Wisconsin defense ranks first in the nation in points, total yards, passing yards, rushing yards, completion percentage and third downward conversion, by Zach Heilprin.
Wisconsin finished just 4-3 during a pandemic 2020 season, but finished with victories over Minnesota and Wake Forest.