Joel Klatt links Jim Leonhard to Alabama defensive coordinator job

Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt linked former Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard to the Alabama opening.

There are no official reports connecting the two sides, but Leonhard was passed over for the Wisconsin head coaching job after his interim stint. Shortly after, Alabama saw defensive coordinator Pete Golding depart for the same role at Ole Miss.

Klatt broke down why the move of Leonhard to Alabama would make sense.

I just (want to) throw (it) out (there), from a defensive perspective, like Jim Leonard,” Klatt said on his podcast. “Where’s Jim Leonhard gonna land? I think Jim Leonard is one of the best defensive coaches in football. Now a lot of people think and listen, I don’t disagree with them that Jim could wind up in the National Football League. That’s certainly been at his disposal in past years, and I would imagine would be at his disposal this year as well. 

“But if he wants to stay in college, this might be a great opportunity for him to go down, learn from Nick Saban and become even better. Listen, there’s a reason that Wisconsin didn’t want him to be a head coach. So maybe this is Jim’s time to reflect a little bit and say, ‘Okay, what am I lacking? Where can I get it? What am I lacking? Where can I get it?.” 

Klatt explained why it would be a near-genius move for Leonhard to try and land at Alabama under Saban.

“Well, if you’re lacking the knowledge, the foresight to be a head coach, the way to get it is to go work for Nick Saban,” Klatt said. “He’s the greatest coach in college football history. So that’s the name that I would throw out there, and we’ll see where they go. I think the more interesting part and this will help me kind of transition to the next subject. The more interesting part is just thinking about Alabama with two brand new coordinators.”

Leonhard was a candidate for the Wisconsin head coaching job, but the school elected to hire Luke Fickell. Fickell concluded a highly successful tenure at Cincinnati.

Leonhard took over for Paul Chryst in the middle of the 2022 season and went 5-3 as interim head coach and won the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.

After his playing career from 2005-14 in the NFL, Leonard rejoined his alma mater in 2016 as a defensive backs coach and rose up the ranks.

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Perhaps he would be a great fit at Alabama at the Saban school of hard knocks.