Should LaFleur Hire Jim Leonhard AS DC?

[Joemailman]

Luke Fickell getting Badgers HC job so...

[Bretsky]

no brainer poll :)

[Joemailman]

no brainer poll :)

Only if you're a Badger Homer.:razz:

[bobblehead]

Only if he wants to win football games.

[George Cumby]

Need a "Yes! Because a turkey sandwich would be better than the bum we got." option.

[Bretsky]

Only if you're a Badger Homer.:razz:

My eyes roll at anybody who votes no :) hmmmmmmmmmm

[bobblehead]

Biggest no brainer hire EVER! Word was they wanted him when they got Barry. If they decide "well, we gotta keep Barry now, cuz it would be unfair to fire him.....". Fuck that. Life ain't fair. When the hot chic turned me down for prom but later wanted to go out I didn't keep dating the average chic that I took to prom. I went with my first choice.

[Fritz]

Just fire Joe Barely. I don't care who you hire after that unless it's another washed-up retread.

[call_me_ishmael]

Kind of seems like the luster around Jimmy is gone.

[ThunderDan]

I wonder what Leonard will do.

I feel like he has got to move on or he is basically giving up any chance of being picked elsewhere. Maybe his family loves Madison and he stays.

I certainly would love having him in GB. He seems to have multiple looks and blitzes which Baltimore used a lot when Leonard was a safety in the league.

[call_me_ishmael]

But why would GB hire a guy that couldn’t even coach well enough to keep his job? Has the D been successful the past two years for UW? Man, I’m not sure he deserves the chance to be in GB as much as I hate to say it. Maybe he can sell the vision of extreme aggression and how his teams didn’t have the talent to pull it off, but is that enough for milf?

[ThunderDan]

But why would GB hire a guy that couldn’t even coach well enough to keep his job? Has the D been successful the past two years for UW? Man, I’m not sure he deserves the chance to be in GB as much as I hate to say it. Maybe he can sell the vision of extreme aggression and how his teams didn’t have the talent to pull it off, but is that enough for milf?

He was the D coordinator. Wis had one of the top 3 scoring defenses until this year under Leonard. If our O could actually sustain drives the Ds numbers would have been much better this year.

[Joemailman]

I wonder what Leonard will do.

I feel like he has got to move on or he is basically giving up any chance of being picked elsewhere. Maybe his family loves Madison and he stays.

I certainly would love having him in GB. He seems to have multiple looks and blitzes which Baltimore used a lot when Leonard was a safety in the league.

I would think Fickell will want to bring his own guy in as DC.

[ThunderDan]

Since Leonard was hired in 2017 until 2021, the Badger D averaged less than 17 points given up a game. Top 3 in BCS.

[ThunderDan]

I would think Fickell will want to bring his own guy in as DC.

Leonard runs a top 3 defense and the players love him. I would think Fickell would want to interview him but make his own choice.

[Joemailman]

Leonard runs a top 3 defense and the players love him. I would think Fickell would want to interview him but make his own choice.

I don't see a guy who was interim HC staying with the team that decided to replace him. It's not like he won't have other good options.

[ThunderDan]

I don't see a guy who was interim HC staying with the team that decided to replace him. It's not like he won't have other good options.

That’s what I am thinking but Leonard kept talking about how much his family loves Madison. Maybe he has enough money in the bank that he isn’t looking to move up.

[Bretsky]

But why would GB hire a guy that couldn’t even coach well enough to keep his job? Has the D been successful the past two years for UW? Man, I’m not sure he deserves the chance to be in GB as much as I hate to say it. Maybe he can sell the vision of extreme aggression and how his teams didn’t have the talent to pull it off, but is that enough for milf?


Jimmy was awesome as a DC and brought multiple blitz packages that really worked well. As a HC I think he was a work in progress. I think they seriously considered him but keep in mind he's never been a head coach.

Hiring Jimmy was a double. But when they found out a home run was available for hire it was a no brainer to hire the guy that took Cincy to the BCS

[call_me_ishmael]

Since Leonard was hired in 2017 until 2021, the Badger D averaged less than 17 points given up a game. Top 3 in BCS.

Yeah but who are they playing? I’d be curious how they’ve done against good teams. I genuinely don’t know - I haven’t followed as closely as I used to. JL to GB would feel great to me, hopefully he has the resume still to support it.

[call_me_ishmael]

I don't see a guy who was interim HC staying with the team that decided to replace him. It's not like he won't have other good options.

I think Luke Fickell did exactly this IIRC. He was interim coach and went back to DC under Urb I think.

[call_me_ishmael]

If you’re JL you’re in Milfs texts tonight, right? That’s gotta be the first conversation.

[King Friday]

JL should merit considerable interest from Green Bay. He’s a damn good defensive mind.

[bobblehead]

I can't remember which DC (maybe Rex Ryan?) but I recall reading that he said when Leonhard was a safety for him in the NFL he never worried about the backend. It was like a coach on the field.

He has a decade in the NFL, plus solid pay from UW. He doesn't seem like an "I need more" kind of guy. Wisconsin native, small town. He needs to be given this job. If it fails no one blames MiLF.

[King Friday]

I think Luke Fickell did exactly this IIRC. He was interim coach and went back to DC under Urb I think.

Correct, so I wouldn’t guarantee that JL moves on immediately. Since Fickell has been through the exact situation already, he can offer support and assistance to JL in making the leap to head coach. Fickell has a lot of work to do on the offensive side of the ball, so he may view having JL stay for another year as a blessing if he is open to doing so.

[texaspackerbacker]

FIRE BARRY - Absolutely, and do it now, even if the season is down the drain.

But do NOT hire Leonhard. His Badger defenses did great against the crap teams, but couldn't cut it against good teams, and there are no teams in the NFL that aren't good enough to beat Leonhard's style of D.

[King Friday]

So who would you get Tex? There aren’t that many options that will have superior resumes to JL.

[texaspackerbacker]

I don't know. I'd say just about every team in the league has a better DC than Barry, so a protege of one of them. I don't like the Packers whole style of D, and Leonhard seems to play a similar style. I hope LaFleur isn't committed to getting somebody who plays 3-4. I wish that poll allowed more than one choice, because several of the non-Leonhard choices applied - no to college DCs, hire somebody with NFL experience, and other (change the style of D maybe to 4-3)

[King Friday]

I don’t see the Packers changing to a 4-3. Getting someone with NFL experience means getting sloppy seconds or taking a real chance on a position coach who has no coordinator experience. As I said, there won’t be many options out there with better resumes for the position than JL. Sure, it is possible there is a better candidate out there, but MLF doesn’t seem like a guy who will take big chances.

[Joemailman]

I don’t see the Packers changing to a 4-3. Getting someone with NFL experience means getting sloppy seconds or taking a real chance on a position coach who has no coordinator experience. As I said, there won’t be many options out there with better resumes for the position than JL. Sure, it is possible there is a better candidate out there, but MLF doesn’t seem like a guy who will take big chances.

I'm not opposed to hiring Leonhard, but I wouldn't call Vic Fangio or Mike Zimmer sloppy seconds.

[texaspackerbacker]

A lot of teams have had success with innovative young DCs who came from teams with good Ds and apparently good DCs. Why LaFleur went with a retread piece of crap who had floundered elsewhere I don't know. He needs to get somebody younger than himself, but not Leonhard.

[Freak Out]

Is he available right now?

[bobblehead]

So, much like amari rodgers before, I am checking my smart phone every 10 minutes for an update on the firing of mr. Barry.

[Joemailman]

Is he available right now?

Leonhard? He's probably still under contract, although I doubt Wisconsin would try to prevent him from taking a HC job somewhere, or an NFL job.

[Teamcheez1]

No worries, at his press conference MLF gave Barry a big vote of confidence. I’m not sure MLF would say anything else even if he has plans to dump Barry. The paranoid side of me worries that he could actually consider keeping Barry at season’s end.

[Bretsky]

I can't remember which DC (maybe Rex Ryan?) but I recall reading that he said when Leonhard was a safety for him in the NFL he never worried about the backend. It was like a coach on the field.

He has a decade in the NFL, plus solid pay from UW. He doesn't seem like an "I need more" kind of guy. Wisconsin native, small town. He needs to be given this job. If it fails no one blames MiLF.

REX RYAN said that; when he went to the Jets he noted one of the first thing he pushed for was to sign Jimmy as a safety for the intelligence and leadership and brains he bought to the unit.

[Joemailman]

Sounds like Fickell is open to the possibility of keeping Leonhard. So I guess the ball is in Leonhard's court.

[Bretsky]

Sounds like Fickell is open to the possibility of keeping Leonhard. So I guess the ball is in Leonhard's court.

I think we all knew it would be; he'll be offered a spot on the defensive staff. He'll have other opportunities. If Matty wasn't such a wussbag he'd be contacting Jimmy and othere right now but Matty sees no need for a change. Reminds me of the special teams disaster we had for years

[Joemailman]

I think we all knew it would be; he'll be offered a spot on the defensive staff. He'll have other opportunities. If Matty wasn't such a wussbag he'd be contacting Jimmy and othere right now but Matty sees no need for a change. Reminds me of the special teams disaster we had for years

I think MLF knows a change at DC will need to be made. He's just not going to hang Barry in effigy right now.

[Sparkey]

Leonhard? He's probably still under contract, although I doubt Wisconsin would try to prevent him from taking a HC job somewhere, or an NFL job.
Under contract thru 2023.