MIKE LUCAS Senior Writer Related Content Varsity Magazine

BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer

MADISON, Wis. — It was one of those freak practice mishaps where a defensive back and wide receiver collide with bad results. In this case, it left New York Jets safety Jim Leonhard with a fractured right tibia after his collision with Patrick Turner.

The timing couldn't have been worse for the Jets to lose the quarterback of their defense and the glue to the secondary — which is how New York head coach Rex Ryan always referred to Leonhard because of his mastery of the X's and O's and his leadership skills.

Three days after Leonhard had surgery, the New England Patriots dominated New York, 45-3.

But the Jets would get a second crack at the Pats in the 2011 AFC divisional playoffs and Leonhard would play a significant role in the outcome — even though he couldn't suit up for the game — thanks to Ryan, who had him break down film of New England's offense in preparation for the rematch.

If Leonhard saw something — maybe it was a vulnerable area that the Jets could exploit by mixing or tweaking their defensive schemes to neutralize Tom Brady's passing attack, whatever it took, maybe it was a Cover 4 scheme — Ryan wanted Leonhard to share that knowledge with his coaches.

"The coaching staff wanted help in any way as far as game-planning — if I saw anything just let them know," recalled Leonhard, who attended the installation meetings. "I had a couple of ideas that I ran past them and it was stuff that they implemented into the game plan."

Leonhard's suggestions — his coverage tweaks — paid huge dividends as the Jets upset the Patriots, 28-21, on their home turf. Brady was 29-of-45 for 299 yards and one interception. He also was sacked five times while the Patriots converted on only 35 percent of their third downs.

"It went a long way in helping us win that playoff game," Jets secondary coach Dennis Thurman said of Leonhard's influence on the coverages. "He's a leader, he knows how things are supposed to look and he wants them to be right. If he couldn't do it physically, he would do it any way he can.

"In some ways he's probably preparing himself to be a coach, whether he knows it or not."

Deep down inside, Leonhard has probably known that all along. Teaching always has been a passion, and what better place to teach than at his alma mater. Saturday, Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst, another proud alum, made it all happen by hiring Leonhard as his new secondary coach.

After a 10-year career in the National Football League, Leonhard retired at the end of the 2014 season and returned to the Madison area to build a home and establish roots with his wife, Katie, and their children. It was during that time that he did some soul-searching on his future.

"I knew mentally I needed a year to take a break," he said. "It was nice to get the perspective back a little bit. Being in the NFL for 10 years, obviously things change, kids change. To have a year to be around it a little bit, I was able to do some film study with Coach (Dave) Aranda last year.

"It was just to get my mind back on the college game. I love it. There's nothing like college football. And I'm excited for this opportunity to teach the game, not only on the field but off the field, as well. I feel my mindset and the way I approached things was what allowed me to be successful.

"And that's the stuff I want to pass on to the next generation of Badgers for years to come. I love teaching football and I think I can help a lot of kids and there's no better place to do it than here at the UW. The biggest thing for me was finding out if it was the right fit as far as time (commitment).

"Family is extremely important to me. But having a great relationship with Coach Chryst — knowing the family man that he is and how important it is to him to be a dad, to be a husband — I felt comfortable with the decision to coach.

"I can honestly say I didn't want to do this anywhere else, I only wanted to do it at the UW."

Over the past year, Leonhard got to know many of the UW assistants — "Great coaches, great minds" — and during the interview process, he got a chance to sit down and visit with new defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox, who has replaced Aranda. "I talked football and philosophy with him," he said.

Beside the strategy sessions, Leonhard, a former walk-on, is looking forward to recruiting.

"It's easy for me to sell the University of Wisconsin," he said. "I feel like I can go into any kid's home and get across the fact, 'If you make the decision to come here, it will be one of the best decisions of your life if you treat the opportunity the right way, whether it's on or off the football field.'"

Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez feels like Chryst hit a home run with the hire.

"Jimmy has been a coach on the field ever since he has played," said Alvarez, who coached Leonhard, an All-America safety. "Everybody that had him in the NFL tried to sign him when they moved to another team because they wanted his expertise and his knowledge in the back end.

"Jimmy had a reputation within the league of understanding football and secondary play as well as anybody. He has great respect and you hear that from a lot of different people. The fact that we could get him here and he can share that expertise and experience with our kids will be unbelievable."

Alvarez defined the "coach on the field" phrase from his perspective as a Hall of Fame coach.

"That means you understand the whole game," he said. "You understand that when there's a defense called, you see what the offense comes out in and you recognize by alignment what they're trying to do. You understand any variation or change of strength that they may give you.

"You see the big picture and you're able to adjust accordingly and anticipate accordingly in matching up with it. Jimmy has always been able to do that. As smart as he is, as bright as he is, he'll be able to share that knowledge with his players.

"He had great speed and he was a good athlete. But he was able to stay in the NFL for 10 years because of what he had between his ears. He was as smart as anybody and smarter than a majority of the people. His football intellect allowed him to play that long and be an outstanding player."

Leonhard had his own interpretation of "coach on the field" from his experiences.

"It means a lot," he emphasized. "It means being a leader, going above and beyond, not doing just your job but helping make the entire defense better, the entire team better. I took a lot of pride in that as a player. And a lot of that is what I want to pass on to my players."

Leonhard is from a family of coaches. His dad was the basketball and baseball coach at Flambeau High School in Tony. His mom was a volleyball and basketball coach.

"Everyone seemed like they coached something at some point — dad, mom, grandpa, aunts, uncles," he said. "So the apple didn't fall too far from the tree. Everyone kind of expected me to go down this path eventually and I'm excited to be starting now."

During the later stages of his pro career, Leonhard was generally regarded as a player-coach.

"I had a mentorship role," he acknowledged. "And I loved coming back here in the offseason and trying to find a handful of guys to work with. I've had high school and youth camps back home. And I've always enjoyed doing it. Like I said earlier, I like teaching.

"I just needed to take a year to see what else was around. That was the awesome part of being back in Madison — to see what kind of opportunities were out there. If there was something I felt a strong pull towards, I was going to pursue it. If not, I kind of knew I wanted to give this a shot."

He didn't find anything else that mattered as much as teaching and coaching football.

But he did have to resist the temptation of coming out of retirement to play again.

Leonhard got a couple of calls from NFL teams wondering if they could change his mind.

"There was one opportunity that was really appealing," he said, "and it just didn't end up happening. That would have been pretty cool. There was a little bit of a pull (to play again). It was something I looked it. But I was more than happy being home with the family."

Which is where he is again. With the Badger family.