Out of the three names, Leonhard has emerged as a fan favorite to be the Cowboys\u2019 play-caller on defense. Leonhard is someone head coach Brian Schottenheimer is familiar with, having spent three years together with the New York Jets from 2009-2011, when Schottenheimer was the offensive coordinator, and Leonhard was the strong safety.<\/p>\n
I saw Jim before we played Denver. Jim\u2019s a heck of football coach. You talk about a great football player, man. We had some great years together in New York. Again, I would not say we\u2019ve stayed in touch. This business is hard. You get going a million miles [an hour]. You gotta speak to what Sean [Payton] and what that entire staff has done there. Vance Joseph is a guy I have a ton of respect for. Jim\u2019s an excellent coach.<\/p>\n
Calm, cool, and collected like someone who is trying not to tip their hand on what direction they might want to go. If the Cowboys go with someone like Leonhard, it will break the seemingly prerequisite that every defensive coordinator must have prior head-coaching experience. Dating all the way back to 2014 with Rod Marinelli, Mike Nolan, Dan Quinn, Mike Zimmer, and recently with Matt Eberflus.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, during the same press conference, owner and general manager Jerry Jones dismissed the notion that having prior head coaching experience or being a play-caller is a must in their search for a new coach. That opens up the door for Leonhard, who isn\u2019t as wet behind the ears as some may think.<\/p>\n
Before joining the Broncos coaching staff in 2024, Leonhard spent six seasons at the collegiate level as a defensive coordinator with the Wisconsin Badgers and served as the team\u2019s interim head coach at the end of the 2022 season, when the team went 4-3. At Wisconsin, Leonhard\u2019s defense ranked first among all Power-5 teams in first downs per game (15.4), third-down percentage (30.8), and yards per game (288.0) from 2017-22.<\/p>\n