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“You can work really, really hard and enjoy it. We try to push that to our guys,” Leonhard says.
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And some wisdom from a former coach, Rex Ryan, guides his approach: football is a game meant for kids - one that college and professional athletes are lucky to still be playing. “They were who they were, and everybody respected it.”Īs for his own style, Leonhard walks the line between cracking jokes and demanding discipline. “I was very fortunate to be around some coaches with very strong personalities,” Leonhard says. Second, to be a great coach, you’ve got to be yourself. Hes been seen as a coach-in-waiting with the Badgers for a while, though most. The lessons he carries with him from his time in the pros? First, there are different ways to achieve success, so flexibility is key to building team talent. Jim Leonhard, Wisconsin defensive coordinator/interim coach: I genuinely think this is Leonhards job to lose.
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He has been an assistant coach at UW for the last 80 games, beginning with the 2016 season when he joined Paul. Chryst won 72 of his games with the program, and still lost his job after the team was obviously regressing. 2 days ago &0183 &32 MADISON Jim Leonhard played in 51 games at Wisconsin. He is the interim head coach for the Wisconsin Badgers. The Badgers fired Paul Chryst after he compiled a record of 67-26 coaching the Badgers. James Andrew Leonhard (born October 27, 1982) is an American football coach and former player. He then played 10 seasons in the NFL with six teams, beginning with the Buffalo Bills and ending with the Cleveland Browns. Wisconsin interim head coach Jim Leonhard will make his debut as the top dog Saturday against Northwestern, and expectations are through the roof. Once a small-town Wisconsin kid who hadn’t witnessed Game Day at the UW until his senior year of high school, Leonhard walked on to the Badger football team and proceeded to wow fans with his speed and defensive finesse at safety. “I’m just trying to learn as much as I can, as fast as I can.”īut what he lacks in coaching experience, he makes up for with a solid playing career rooted in his love of the game. Leonhard was an All-American safety at Wisconsin and after he graduated he played for 10 seasons in the NFL.
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“It is pretty special to be at this point in my career, where I’m at right now, really in only year two,” Leonhard says. Badger fans know the name Jim Leonhard well. His direction of the defense will be measured against coaches across the country who are years his senior. When the stadium lights shine on Camp Randall and the bleachers shake with the weight of students jumping around, Jim Leonhard ’06 will be in the middle of the action, reminding his Badger players that football is meant to be fun.Īt 34, Leonhard is the youngest defensive coordinator in the Big Ten and has just one year of coaching under his belt.
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Chryst won 72 of his games with the program, and still lost his job after the team was obviously regressing. The Badgers fired Paul Chryst after he compiled a record of 67-26 coaching the Badgers. Jim Leonhard, a Wisconsin native, walked on to the Badger football team. 2 days ago &0183 &32 Wisconsin interim head coach Jim Leonhard will make his debut as the top dog Saturday against Northwestern, and expectations are through the roof.
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