Illinois announces addition of former Wisconsin interim coach Jim Leonhard as senior analyst

Former Wisconsin defensive coordinator and interim head coach Jim Leonhard has landed a new job. He’s now going to be a defensive analyst for Illinois. The Fighting Illini announced the move on Twitter.

A member of the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame, Jim Leonhard was a three-time first-team All-American, three-time All-Big Ten first-team selection, two-time Academic All-American, and two-time team captain as a player for the Badgers. Now, he’ll help Illinois prepare to beat Wisconsin.

“Welcome to the #famILLy, Jim Leonhard!” Illinois tweeted.

Welcome to the #famILLy, Jim Leonhard!#Illini // #HTTO // #famILLy pic.twitter.com/EpTWrCrhVf

— Illinois Football (@IlliniFootball) July 25, 2023

Jim Leonhard played his college football at Wisconsin before going onto the NFL. In 2016, he returned to Wisconsin as a defensive backs coach and worked his way up to defensive coordinator in 2017. He quickly became one of the biggest names in the industry on the defensive side of the ball and took over for Paul Chryst as interim head coach in 2022, going 5-3.

Considered a candidate for the full time head coaching job, Leonhard didn’t remain on staff when Luke Fickell took over in Madison. Fickell said, “I definitely opened the door for Jim to be here. He’s trying to weigh the options.”

Leonhard was linked to several jobs this offseason. That included the open Alabama job as well as the Philadelphia Eagles open defensive coordinator slot, which he interviewed for though the process didn’t move forward.

Now, Jim Leonhard is teaming up with another former Wisconsin head coach, Bret Bielema at Illinois. In 2004, Bielema was actually Leonhard’s defensive coordinator during an All-American campaign. So, while they haven’t coached together before, the two are familiar with one another.

Phil Steele says that Illinois is a Big Ten West contender

In 2023, the Big Ten West seems like it could be up for grabs and after Bret Bielema led Illinois to an 8-5 record in his second season with the program, Phil Steele thinks that the Fighting Illini are a real contender in the conference.

“Last year, I said Bielema had a good chance of getting the Illini to a bowl. But, to be honest, they far exceeded my expectations. Illinois opened a super 7-1…They were ranked for the first time since 2011. I was then equally surprised they lost at home to both Michigan State and Purdue, costing them the Big Ten West title,” Steele wrote.

“The last three times Illinois had a winning record? They followed that up with a losing record (’00, ’02, ’08). This year, 10 All-Big Ten players return (most in B10 West). They are solid on both lines and were the most talented Big Ten West team last year. Despite some key departures, they remain a contender in the Big Ten West.”