Former Wisconsin interim head coach Jim Leonhard joins Illinois staff

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Former Wisconsin interim head coach Jim Leonhard has joined the coaching staff at Big Ten rival Illinois as a senior analyst, the Illini football program announced Tuesday.

Leonhard, a Wisconsin standout as a player and assistant coach, led the Badgers for the final eight games of the 2022 season after the firing of Paul Chryst. Leonhard was widely considered the frontrunner to land the permanent head coach job before Wisconsin surprised many outside observers by hiring Luke Fickell away from Cincinnati last November. 

Leonhard went 5-3 as interim head coach, including a win over Oklahoma State in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl with Fickell on the Badgers' sideline. 

Leonhard began his playing career at Wisconsin as a walk-on and became a starting safety for the Badgers in the early 2000s, leading the nation in interceptions in 2002 and the Big Ten in 2003. In 2004, he played his final year under then-Wisconsin defensive coordinator and current Illinois head coach Bret Bielema, who went on to become Wisconsin's head coach from 2006-2012. 

After a 10-year NFL career, Leonhard returned to Wisconsin as defensive backs coach in 2016 and was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2017, where he remained until Chryst's firing. Chryst was let go after losing to Illinois 34-10 at home in early October.

Leonhard is considered a program legend and fan favorite in Wisconsin and often spoke openly about his love for the Badgers football program, but he opted to leave despite reportedly being offered the chance to return under Fickell. Leonhard now joins fellow ex-Badger coach Bielema at one of Wisconsin's conference rivals. The two teams are scheduled to face off at Illinois on Oct. 21.