David Levine
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Joined: 7/14/2007
From: Las Vegas
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ORIGINAL: marty
David, Leonhard seems like a flexible, good choice.
I'm intrigued by him too. From the article:
Jim Leonhard, former U of Wisconsin interim head coach, defensive coordinator
Leonhard, 40, has been the defensive coordinator at the University of Wisconsin since 2017, amassing an impressive record. Since taking over as defensive coordinator, Wisconsin’s defense ranks inside the top five of the following categories: scoring defense, total defense, rushing defense, passing defense, pass efficiency defense, opponent completion percentage, and opponent third down conversion percentage. Last season, the Badgers were No. 1 nationally in total defense and rushing defense. Still, the question with all successful college coaches is whether they can replicate that success in the NFL.
He’s seen as a defensive guru who uses NFL-style concepts at the college level and is seen as a top candidate for defensive coordinator positions in the NFL. Here is how Leonhard is described schematically while at Wisconsin:
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Leonhard is widely regarded as one of the top defensive coordinators in all of college football. While he utilizes a base 3-4 scheme, his defense deploys various fronts, with a 2-4-5 design regularly used against pass-heavy teams. Leonhard is known for using an array of stunts and blitz packages to aggressively attack offenses while leaving his defensive backs in man-to-man coverage. That is not to say he does not use zone coverage ever, but Leonhard uses a lot of movement and misdirection to keep offenses guessing, regardless of the coverage.
Leonhard is an incredibly cerebral play-caller and is one of the most intelligent people inside the Wisconsin program. Players frequently highlight how he can make the complicated nuances of reading offenses and learning new techniques easy to understand.
One of his strengths is his adaptability. Leonhard has shown a willingness to adjust his defense each year to match the personnel, which has helped maintain Wisconsin’s stout defense year in and year out, despite player turnover each season. Still, the question with any college coach is whether they can have the same success at the NFL level as they had at the college level.
Leonard could be a good fit for the Vikings as they have an increasing number of younger players in need of development. He’d also likely take a much different approach defensively than Donatell or Zimmer have done in recent years, judging by his approach at Wisconsin.
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