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Former Wisconsin Badgers coach Jim Leonhard connected to open defensive coordinator role on team he played for

After missing out on the Green Bay Packers job, former Wisconsin Badgers player and coach Jim Leonhard is a top candidate for the open defensive coordinator job on one of his former teams.
Lorin Cox|
Former Wisconsin Bears coach Jim Leonhard is emerging as a candidate to be the Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator.
Former Wisconsin Bears coach Jim Leonhard is emerging as a candidate to be the Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator. | Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Wisconsin Badgers fans are eagerly awaiting to see where former player and coach Jim Leonhard continues his NFL coaching career.

While many hoped he would return to his home state Green Bay Packers, that prospect is off the table. But on Tuesday, a new opportunity emerged that also makes a lot of sense.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Leonhard is expected to be a leading candidate for the Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator role.

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While the language Schefter used in his report was not very firm, it's a strong indication that Leonhard will be a front-runner for the job.

Schefter can't say yet whether Leonhard will get the job for sure, because he and other candidates will still have to formally interview for it, but this report indicates a clear preference from new Bills head coach Joe Brady.

The move makes sense for Leonhard, who began his NFL playing career in Buffalo after going undrafted following his college career at Wisconsin.

His UDFA status was reflective of questions about his size translating to the NFL, rather than his production. During his college career with the Badgers, he recorded 21 interceptions, and he led the Big Ten in punt returns during his final season.

Leonhard's first three seasons were with the Bills, and then he returned to the team for one more year late in his career.

Jim Leonhard began his NFL playing career with the Buffalo Bills and could return there as a defensive coordinator.
Former Wisconsin Badgers safety Jim Leonhard began his NFL playing career with the Buffalo Bills and could return there as a defensive coordinator. | Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images

Now, he could get his first NFL defensive coordinator role on the team that first gave him a shot as a player.

His only defensive coordinating experience came during his six seasons in the role at Wisconsin under head coach Paul Chryst.

Leonhard has spent the last two seasons as defensive backs coach and defensive pass game coordinator for the Denver Broncos.

Related: Former Wisconsin Badgers coach hired as Washington Commanders defensive coordinator

He has been connected to a number of defensive coordinator openings around the NFL, but he hadn't been able to formally interview him while his Broncos were still in the playoffs.

Now that Denver has been eliminated, he is free to interview for and accept any coordinator job that becomes available to him.

Some Wisconsin fans are still holding out hope that he could someday return to Madison as a permanent head coach if the role becomes available again.

But the farther he advances in the NFL coaching world, the harder it will be to lure him back to his alma mater.

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Lorin Cox
LORIN COX

Lorin Cox is the managing editor of Wisconsin Badgers on SI. He has been covering Badgers sports since 2014, when he was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. He previously wrote for the Wisconsin State Journal, NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today Sports Media Group, and he is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus.

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