Jim Leonhard on Paul Chryst: He told me he has a ton of confidence in me

While it was apparent something needed to change for Wisconsin football to get out of a rut, firing head coach Paul Chryst on Sunday — the day after a 34-10 drubbing at the hands of a Bret Bielama-led Illinois team — was a shocking move.

But the Badgers saw a rising star in defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard, now the interim head coach, and decided it was time to make a big-time shuffle to hopefully right the ship on this football season and the program. Speaking with Leonhard amid the machinations, Chryst expressed his confidence in the new head man, Leonhard said.

“Obviously unique circumstances to get here, and want to be very sensitive to Coach Chryst and the conversations and the relationship that we had. He has a ton of confidence in me and he made that very clear when he hired me and he made that very clear today in his message. This place means a lot to me. I really felt like I grew up here. I’ve talked about this many times. I really became who I am at the university of Wisconsin and in this football program and around so many people that are still here today. So, to have an opportunity to be in this position is not one that I take lightly,” Leonhard said on Sunday at a press conference.

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Leonhard played for Wisconsin from 2002-04 as a defensive back before coming back as the defensive backs coach in 2016. He was promoted to defensive coordinator a year later.

Like so many others at Wisconsin, the connection to the school runs deep for Leonhard, and being the head coach at his alma mater isn’t lost on him. The circumstances of it — the coach who hired him being jettisoned amid a lackluster 2-3 start — are bleak, but the job at hand is what Leonhard got into coaching for.

“Very mixed emotions at this point,” Leonhard said, “but, I feel like I can take this opportunity and help this place grow. And that’s why I came back a number of years ago and that’s why I haven’t left. And that’s the mission that I want to continue forward with our guys and getting them to understand the trust, the confidence we have in this group of men. That we will get this going the right direction and it’s going to happen sooner than later.”

Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh made clear that part of the impetus for turning the program over to Leonhard now was to try and turn this season around.

“Obviously, the fit that Jim brings to this program, his competitiveness, his work ethic, those are all gimmes. Clearly, his ability to lead and his ability to teach. We’re fortunate to have Jimmy on the staff, that we’re in a position that we can entrust this level of responsibility and leadership to somebody like Jimmy,” McIntosh said. “So, I mentioned early, I’m confident that there’s nobody who can do it better at this moment in time than Jim. And our collective focus, everybody around this program and in it, is to try to maximize this season for our team.”

With the Big Ten West generally languishing — Wisconsin is the second team in the division to fire its head coach and the season isn’t halfway done — there’s no reason to think the Badgers can’t at least engineer a bowl berth, still.

Now it’s in Leonhard’s hands to lead the charge.