A signing with a taste of return
The Buffalo Bills are wasting no time. As confirmed by a source to The Associated Press, the team has reached an agreement to hire Jim Leonhard as its new defensive coordinator.
The news comes under new head coach Joe Brady. The source, who asked not to be identified because the contract has not yet been signed, gave the details to the AP. ESPN was the first media to report it.
“The person spoke to AP on condition of anonymity because Leonhard has not yet signed a contract.”
Experience and connections
Leonhard, 43, has just spent the last two seasons with the Denver Broncos. There he was assistant head coach and defensive passing game coordinator. He is the second member of Denver’s coaching staff to join Brady in Buffalo; Pete Carmichael has already been hired as offensive coordinator.
Brady and Carmichael had already worked together in New Orleans. With Leonhard, there is no known direct connection… but that doesn’t seem to matter.
This move fills a key position for the Bills, who are looking to give it a new direction after the departure of Sean McDermott after nine years. While Brady maintains offensive continuity with Josh Allen, Leonhard will take the reins of a unit that was molded under McDermott’s vision.
He replaces Bobby Babich, who left last week to take the same position in Green Bay.
An aggressive identity
In his first press conference, Brady already made his intention clear: he wants a defense with the same aggressive mentality as his offense. Last year, Buffalo finished seventh in yards allowed, but struggled against the run game (28th) and in pass rush (14th).
Instead, Leonhard’s Broncos led the NFL in sacks for the second straight year, with 68.
For Leonhard, this is a homecoming. He played ten years in the NFL as a defensive back, including his first three seasons (2005-07) precisely… in Buffalo. He arrived as an undrafted free agent from Wisconsin and closed his career in Cleveland in 2014.
His transition to the bench also began at Wisconsin. He rose from coaching the secondary to defensive coordinator for five years. He even closed out the 2022 season as interim head coach following the firing of Paul Chryst, before leaving for Illinois and then Denver.
Now go back to the place where it all started. With a clear mission: build a defensive wall to accompany Josh Allen’s powerful attack. The Brady-Leonhard project has just begun.
