Denver Broncos Coach Jim Leonhard Favored To Be Next Buffalo Bills’ Defensive Coordinator
The latest buzz coming out of the rumor mill has the Buffalo Bills eyeing a very specific prize on Sean Payton’s shelf: defensive backs coach and Assistant Head Coach Jim Leonhard. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Leonhard isn’t just a name on a list; he is “expected to be a leading candidate” for the Bills’ defensive coordinator gig. Will Leonhard end up getting the job?
A Homecoming In the Making?
Let’s talk about the emotional side of football for a second. We often treat coaches like chess pieces, moving them around the board based on stats and schemes. But Leonhard has history in Buffalo.
The man started his NFL playing career with the Bills back in the day. He wasn’t drafted; he had to scrap and claw his way onto the roster as a walk-on. He spent three years in Buffalo making a name for himself, then even circled back for a second stint later in his career.
There is a certain romance to returning to the place where it all started, this time not as the underdog safety trying to make the team, but as the guy calling the shots for the defense. It’s the kind of full-circle moment that sports writers dream of and fans eat up. If Joe Brady, who was just named the Bills’ head coach, is looking for someone who understands the grit of that city and the pulse of that franchise, Leonhard is a slam-dunk hire.
Leonhard is Too Good For the Passenger Seat
Here is the hard truth for Broncos Country: Leonhard is wildly overqualified for his current role. We saw it when he was at Wisconsin, leading one of the stingiest defenses in college football. We saw it when he arrived in Denver in 2024. By 2025, the Broncos had to promote him to assistant head coach and passing game coordinator just to keep him happy and keep other teams from poaching him.
He’s 43 years old, and he’s been ready to run his own NFL defense for a while. Keeping a guy like that as a position coach is like buying a Ferrari and only driving it to the grocery store. Eventually, that car needs to run.
The Vance Joseph Ripple Effect
For a while there, the fear in Denver was a double-whammy: losing Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph to a head coaching gig and losing Leonhard to a promotion elsewhere. That would have left the cupboard bare.
But the coaching carousel is spinning in a weird direction this year. It looks like Joseph isn’t the front-runner for any of the remaining head coaching vacancies. If he stays put, the Broncos keep their defensive identity intact. Losing Leonhard stings less if the guy at the top of the defensive food chain isn’t going anywhere.
However, that doesn’t mean Leonhard’s exit won’t be felt. He’s been instrumental in developing Denver’s secondary. You don’t just replace a football mind like that overnight. If he heads to Buffalo, Payton has some serious homework to do to fill that void in the coaching room.
