Should LaFleur Hire Jim Leonhard AS DC?

[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.