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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin's Paul Chryst has often talked about how Jim Leonhard is his "own man" as a defensive coordinator-slash-secondary coach. Chryst has loved the fact that Leonhard hasn't morphed into somebody different just because he has taken on extra duties and an additional title.
Instead, Chryst likes to say of Leonhard, "Jimmy is Jimmy."
But what does that mean?
"Coach Leonhard is like the Yoda of the defense," said safety Natrell Jamerson.
Descriptive and self-explanatory.
"He knows just about everything that there is for me to know," Jamerson added.
It's one thing to have the knowledge. It's another thing to be able to relate it to college-age players.
"Coach Leonhard is like a teammate," said safety D'Cota Dixon.
To make sure he wasn't misunderstood, he also stressed, "He's definitely our coach."
And treated with respect accordingly.
"But it's the way he approaches it," said Dixon, shining a light on Leonhard's influence. "It helps to digest him as a coach because he has been a player. Everything he's saying, you're very attentive to."
Listening is an underrated quality. Leonhard is a five-star listener. It's why he's planning on getting together soon with Jim O'Neil, one of his former NFL coaches; and Justin Wilcox, the defensive coordinator that he replaced. Wilcox left UW to be the head coach at the University of California.
The purpose for Leonhard's upcoming trip to the West Coast is clear.
"To kind of talk football," he said, "and see where we're at."
And he won't stop with O'Neil and Wilcox.
"I'm going to talk to a lot of coaches for sure," he promised of his offseason agenda.
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One of Leonhard's strengths as a player was his communication skills in the secondary. He was responsible for getting everyone lined up correctly before the snap. As a coach, he has the same challenge. Only he must make sure everybody knows what they're doing before they even take the field.
"After Year 1, I kind of took a step back and reevaluated how I was teaching things and where were we were at," said Leonhard, who made a direct jump from the NFL as a player to the Wisconsin sideline as a secondary coach during the 2016 season.
"Obviously, we were very productive. Not that you have to go and reinvent, but I was able to clean up some things, technique-wise and scheme-wise, that I felt like could help us out. It's been a lot of fun this offseason and a lot of growth for me as a coach."
In what areas did the 34-year-old Leonhard grow?
"Communicating throughout the season," he said. "How you have to approach the day-to-day with the guys and the coaches. I learned a lot going through a season with the game plan, as far as your responsibilities and what you're asked to do, the grind of it as a coach."
All of which falls under the category of self-evaluation or self-check.
"You learn that as a player and carry it over to coaching," he said. "Now, you're not only doing a self-check on yourself, but every individual player on the roster to try to help them improve."
Leonhard has been innovative. Especially with video.
For instance, he will match his defensive backs with physically corresponding NFL players.
"A lot of guys will just take the best corners and watch them and study them," he said. "Well, it doesn't necessarily help you if that's not how you play or it doesn't suit your strengths. I really try to pick guys for each individual and I'll tell them, 'All right, you watch these two or three guys.'
"I want them studying their movements, how they challenge receivers. It's different for almost everyone. On top of that, I want them looking at the best players to learn how they are winning — how are they winning with their technique and knowledge of the game, things like that."
Derrick Tindal has been going to school on Detroit Lions cornerback Darius Slay. Tindal is 5-foot-11, 183 pounds. Slay, a second-round pick out of Mississippi State in the 2013 draft, is 6-foot, 190. "I love watching Slay," Tindal said. "It's nice to get a different perspective on it (playing his position)."
That's the point of the exercise.
"I like some of the longer guys for him (Tindal) because he has got good length," Leonhard said. "He has also taken some stuff from Richard Sherman and guys like that. Chris Harris is a great one playing in the slot — hands down, the best I've seen in there. I've played with him (in Denver)."
Who's a match for Dixon?
"Safeties are a little different," said Leonhard, an All-America safety for the Badgers and a 10-year NFL veteran. "You can have them look at a lot of guys just because you're showing them that there are 100 different ways to get it done. The safety I respect a ton right now is Eric Weddle. He came out with me (in 2005) and he's still playing at a high level.
"He moves like a corner … very productive in the pass game — and he'll come up and hit you."
Dixon has also studied Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith, a former first-rounder out of Notre Dame. "He's very versatile," Dixon said. "But I'll usually watch Weddle when I'm trying to see where my skill set could be. Obviously, it's not there yet by a longshot."
But the players can relate to what they're seeing on tape. Just like they've related to what they've seen out of their new DC.
"That's what I like about him (Leonhard)," Tindal said. "He didn't let the job change who he is."
As the defensive coordinator, he has done what was expected of him. He has taken ownership.
"Scheme-wise, I've added some things that I think can help us," Leonhard acknowledged.
"I'm not set necessarily in anything we're doing. We don't have to change a thing. Coach (Dave) Aranda and Coach (Justin) Wilcox were very, very good and had a very sound scheme. Obviously, they were very productive here.
"Going into it, you know that you don't have to reinvent the wheel. But I wanted to get some changes out there this spring and see how it all lays out next fall. I think it can help us. But if that's not the way it's going, then we'll get back to what we know."
Addressing the rapid ascension from assistant coach to defensive coordinator, he said, "It has been a learning process — obviously in kind of having the final say. I'm really leaning on the other coaches to still help teach and take care of their positions.
"I've been growing in how I have to communicate to the whole defense. With the different responsibilities you have as a coordinator, it has been a fun challenge. I'm going to attack it every day and figure out what's best for this team and what works for me."
Coaches are always preaching teamwork. But it also applies to staff cohesiveness.
"It has been very smooth, very comfortable," Leonhard said of his working relationship with defensive line coach Inoke Breckterfield, outside linebackers coach Tim Tibesar and inside linebackers coach Bob Bostad. "We have great coaches here and you just let them do their job.
"I've always been a believer in that. I learned that from Coach Alvarez. He was not a micro-manager and going to be in everyone's ear … that was my experience last year with Coach Wilcox. And that's the way it's going to have to work for me."
Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez has felt all along that Leonhard "gets it" as a coach.
"I've just noticed that it seems to have been a very easy transition," said Alvarez.
It's not like Leonhard craves or creates attention.
"He hasn't made a big deal out of it," Alvarez said of his promotion to defensive coordinator.
It swings both ways.
"And I don't think the kids have made a big deal out of it, either," said Alvarez, in respect to Leonhard being the third DC in as many seasons at Wisconsin.
"I think we've got a chance," Alvarez said, "to be a pretty good defense."
It's something that Leonhard might bring up to Wilcox when they get together.
"Our approach to football schematically — and just our personalities — were very similar," Leonhard said of Wilcox. "We hit it off really well. It was a good relationship and I was sad to see him go. But it was a great opportunity for him to become a head coach and he's going to do extremely well."
While Leonhard is in the Bay Area, he will look up O'Neil, who was the defensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers last season. O'Neil was on the defensive staff with the New York Jets, the Buffalo Bills and the Cleveland Browns when Leonhard was playing safety for each of those teams.
The timing is right for Leonhard's "spring break" to reassess what ground has been covered.
"You go through the spring and you put a lot of stuff on tape and you re-evaluate it again," Leonhard said. "Who's rising up? Who's going to help you next fall? And you figure out that best plan for it. As coaches, you try to teach as much as possible. And then at the end of it, you step back and figure out where you're at."
In a good place, he might be inclined to answer, in a good place.
