Wisconsin Badgers head coach Paul Chryst said he would have a hire in place to take over the defensive coordinator position after Justin Wilcox left for California, and he kept his promise.
On Thursday, the Badgers hired/promoted defensive backs coach Jim Leonhard as their new defensive coordinator, an internal move that has become a popular choice since the announcement.
Leonhard is just two years out of retirement from the NFL and has spent just one season on the Badgers’ coaching staff with no prior coaching experience.
“A year ago, if you were to ask me if this was going to happen, I’d probably would have laughed at you — not knowing exactly how it was going to go and how it would work out,” Leonhard said.