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Denver Broncos assistant coach Jim Leonhard.
The Denver Broncos assistant coaches — the ones that are still left, anyways — are a pretty popular group after a season in which they grabbed the No. 1 seed in the AFC Playoffs and advanced to the AFC Championship Game.
One of the most popular with other teams has been assistant head coach and defensive passing game coordinator Jim Leonhard.
“Ravens requested to interview Broncos defensive passing game coordinator and assistant HC Jim Leonhard for their defensive coordinator job, per source,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on X. “Leonhard — who played in Baltimore in 2008 — already has interviewed for the Chargers DC and is expected to interview for Buffalo’s DC.”
The Broncos’ season came to an end with a 10-7 loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game, and even though it was their first title game appearance in a decade it didn’t result in a resounding vote of confidence for the coaching staff.
It was quite the opposite, actually. Head coach Sean Payton not only fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi, he also fired wide receivers coach Keary Colbert and defensive backs coach Addison Lynch.
While Leonhard doesn’t have much to do with what happens on offense, Lynch and the defensive backs are a group he would have helped directly oversee.
AFC West Rival Also Interested in Leonhard
Leonhard has done quite a few interviews to potentially ascend to defensive coordinator with another team — the role Vance Joseph currently holds on the Broncos.
He interviewed with the Dallas Cowboys before the AFC title game and the Los Angeles Chargers entered the mix on Wednesday with Leonhard before hiring Western Michigan defensive coordinator Chris O’Leary for the role.
“The Chargers are requesting to interview Broncos defensive passing game coordinator and assistant head coach Jim Leonhard for their vacant defensive coordinator position, source says,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport wrote on X on Wednesday morning. “Leonhard also has interest from the Bills, among others.”
The Broncos have put together one of the NFL’s elite defenses the last 2 seasons with defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and Leonhard helping guide the ship, including a 14-3 regular season record in 2025.
Going From UDFA to Decade Playing in NFL
Leonhard carved out a career as one of the greatest safeties in Big Ten history at Wisconsin, where the 5-foot-8, 188-pound Wisconsin native was a 3-time All-Big Ten pick and 2-time All-American after starting his career as a walk on.
After going undrafted, Leonhard spent a decade playing in the NFL for 6 different teams, including the Buffalo Bills, Broncos and one season with the New Orleans Saints playing for Payton in 2013.
In his one season with the Ravens in 2008, Leonhard played in all 16 games with 13 starts and finished with 69 tackles, 9 pass deflections and 1 interception returned for a touchdown.
Both the Ravens and Bills have new head coaches with Jesse Minter and Joe Brady,. Leonhard might have the inside track in Buffalo.
“Sources: Broncos defensive pass coordinator Jim Leonhard is expected to be a leading candidate to become the next defensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills,” Schefter wrote on Tuesday.
Tony Adame covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame
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