After starting his NFL playing profession in Buffalo in 2005, Jim Leonhard is headed back to western Recent York. The Bills are expected to rent the 43-year-old as their defensive coordinator, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Leonhard spent the last two seasons in Denver as their defensive pass game coordinator. He moreover held the title of defensive backs coach in 2024 and assistant head coach in 2025. In that point, the Broncos defense has been among the best within the NFL, rating second in yards per attempt last yr and leading the league this past season. He’s the team’s second assistant to hitch Joe Brady‘s recent staff in Buffalo; Broncos senior offensive assistant Pete Carmichael accepted a job because the Bills’ recent offensive coordinator earlier this week.
Leonard has now accomplished a remarkable rise from walk-on safety on the University of Wisconsin to NFL defensive coordinator. Despite three straight All-Big Ten nods to finish his college profession – and a powerful pedigree as a returner – Leonhard went undrafted in 2005. He signed with the Bills and made the 53-man roster, kicking off a decade-long profession that featured stints with five other teams.
Amongst them were the Broncos, who gave Leonhard his first NFL coaching job, and the Ravens, who requested to interview him for his or her defensive coordinator emptiness. He also interviewed with the Cowboys, Chargers, and Jets, but all of them went with other candidates. As an alternative, he’ll join Brady in Buffalo because the play-caller for a Bills defense that was certainly one of the league’s best from 2021 to 2023 but faltered within the last two years.
The Bills’ coaching jobs were viewed as a number of the most desirable within the league attributable to the franchise’s recent success and the presence of star quarterback Josh Allen. But a better take a look at the roster reveals significant holes. The line of defense features only two proven impact players in Greg Rousseau and Ed Oliver, veteran linebackers Matt Milano and Joey Bosa are set to hit free agency, and the secondary either needs more veteran depth or some development from their younger players.
Leonhard can definitely address that final issue straight away. Quite a lot of Broncos defensive backs have taken significant steps forward under Leonhard, including cornerbacks Riley Moss and Ja’Quan McMillian. Safety Talanoa Hufanga earned a second-team All-Pro nod in 2025, his first yr in Denver, and Patrick Surtain won Defensive Player of the 12 months in 2024.
Leonhard starting his coaching profession at his alma mater in 2016. After a yr as defensive backs coach, he was promoted to defensive coordinator and eventually served because the interim head coach in 2022. He then spent a yr at Illinois as an analyst before joining Sean Payton‘s staff in Denver.