Michigan State Football: Why Jim Leonhard would be the perfect DC hire

Michigan State football is still looking for its next defensive coordinator and Jonathan Smith should look at Jim Leonhard.

Scottie Hazelton’s tenure has come to an end, and Michigan State football will need to replace him. New head coach Jonathan Smith has already brought in a few assistants. However, a defensive coordinator was not among them. That leaves the Spartans with a decision to make. There are a lot of potential defensive coordinators out there, but who’s the right man for the job?

The answer, to me, seems clear: Jim Leonhard.

Let’s break things down.

Leonhard is best known for his time as Wisconsin’s defensive coordinator — a position he held from 2017 to 2022. During his tenure, the Badgers routinely ranked near the top of the nation in scoring defense, including a No. 4 finish in 2021 and a No. 3 finish in 2017.  Year after year, his guys just got the job done. With Leonhard at the helm, Wisconsin could be expected to field an elite defense any given season. Questionably enough, the defensive coordinator wasn’t retained when Luke Fickell took as head coach over prior to the 2023 campaign.

Currently, the only role Leonhard fills is a senior analyst position at Illinois.

Outstanding track record aside, there’s plenty more to like about the Badgers’ former defensive coordinator. He played defensive back in the NFL for 10 seasons, which is always a plus in a coach. Not only that, he’s only 41 years old. That’s three years younger than MSU head coach Jonathan Smith, and would definitely give the Spartans some continuity at the position. Given that Leonhard holds only a minor coaching role at the moment, it seems possible he could be convinced to join the Michigan State staff. That being said, I’m sure other schools have had the same thought and will no doubt pursue him as well.

If MSU goes after Leonhard, they’ll have competition. If the Spartans could land the coach, though, it would be a home run hire. There’d really be no downsides or strings attached. He’s an young, attainable and elite coach at a position of need, and those don’t come around very often.

There are definitely other good options available, but Leonhard seems like the perfect candidate.

If Michigan State can make it happen, the hype will be flowing like champagne.

Talk soon.