Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard was close to taking the same job with Matt LaFleur and the Green Bay Packers, but his love for the Badgers football program and his desire to stay in Madison led him to decline the offer on Friday. market.
Leonhard spoke with Tom Oates and Jason Wilde of the Wisconsin State Journal about the process and why he decided to work in Wisconsin.
“It was me choosing UW,” Leonhard told Oates and Wilde. “I want to stay at UW. I want to be at this level now. Extremely flattered. Incredible opportunity. But it was not the right time for me to return to the NFL. “
Leonhard, 38, was a defensive substitute in Wisconsin in 2001. He went on to become three times All-American and three All-Big Ten before starting a 10-year career in the NFL. In 2016, he joined the Wisconsin technical team as a defensive coach and was promoted a year later to defensive coordinator.
His ties to Madison are strong, but Leonhard said he was “on the outside”, signaling how close he was to taking over the Packers, and he even talked about 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 enter the process, but he was intrigued by the opportunity to coordinate an NFL defense for a Super Bowl candidate and went through the entire interview process with LaFleur.
In the end, staying with Wisconsin – and continuing to build and steer the Badgers football program while keeping his young family in Madison – prevented Leonhard from going on to the NFL.
“I know the NFL. I know what is good, I know what is bad, to be there for 10 years. I understand what the NFL is. It’s exciting. Now, I feel that UW is the right place. I’m not saying it always will be. But now, this is where I want to be, at this level, with this group of children, ”said Leonhard.
Under Leonhard’s guidance for the past five years, Wisconsin’s defense is among the top five nationally in points, total yards, passing yards, moving yards, completion percentage and third-party conversions by Zach Heilprin.
Wisconsin ended with only 4-3 during a 2020 season full of pandemics, but ended with wins over Minnesota and Wake Forest.