The Buffalo Bills have a new defensive playcaller this season, and Jim Leonhard is under immense pressure to get that side of the ball to the next level.
That is the challenge the first-time NFL defensive coordinator is facing according to ESPN’s Ben Solak, who named Leonhard one of the top-10 coordinators facing scrutiny this year.
Leonhard, of course, takes over for Sean McDermott, who was both the head coach and defensive playcaller. Leonhard, a former NFL safety who spent five years as the defensive coordinator at the University of Wisconsin, is joining the Bills after two seasons as DBs coach and pass-game coordinator with the Denver Broncos.
Jim Leonhard Will Have to Adjust the Bills Defense and Quickly
Things can happen fast in the NFL. The Bills are just two seasons removed from playing for the right to go to the Super Bowl, and they were an OT loss in Denver from doing so again this year.
Yet, that wasn’t enough to save McDermott’s job, and there is immense pressure on the Bills to at least get to the Super bowl with rookie head coach Joe Brady and a first-year NFL DC.
“Leonhard doesn’t just need to install a good defense — he needs to do it fast, and with players largely selected for a different system,” Solak wrote for ESPN.com Friday. “With the stakes and the challenge considered, I’m not sure there’s a defensive coach in the league with a tougher task this summer.”
Leonhard will be running a new scheme, with new terminology and only about six weeks to implement ahead of Buffalo’s two games in five days in Weeks 1 and 2 against the Houston Texans and Detroit Lions.
“This will be their first time learning a new defensive language. With such a wholesale shift inevitably comes growing pains,” Solak wrote. “But the Bills don’t have time for those pains. McDermott was fired after six consecutive seasons in which Buffalo won a playoff game. They were only the fourth team in NFL history to achieve such consistent success.
“But the three previous teams won nine collective Super Bowls; the Bills haven’t even been to one. The message is painfully clear — anything less than the Super Bowl is a failure.”
Jim Leonhard Will be Running a Mostly 3-4 Scheme
GettyJim Leonhard shot all the way to interim head coach at Wisconsin.
Solak referenced the players like Christian Benford or Ed Oliver who were selected to play in McDermott’s primary 4-3 scheme. But Leonhard will be running a 3-4, with three down linemen and four linebackers, which comes with its own set of adjustments.
“Players who only rushed the passer under McDermott will need to learn how to drop into coverage,” Solak wrote. “As structure changes, technique follows. Players who primarily had single-gap responsibilities in run defense will suddenly play 1.5, or even two, gaps far more often.”
Luckily the Bills seem to have chosen a smart man for the job. Leonhard rose to the interim head coach at Wisconsin and likely would have become a DC if the Bills didn’t pounce this offseason.
“Leonhard has long been considered a rising star,” Solak wrote. “A longtime defensive coordinator at his alma mater Wisconsin, Leonhard was on the cutting edge of the college meta with match coverages and simulated pressures. He has worked with Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph the past two seasons, studying under one of the league’s preeminent blitzers.”
Bills Get Strong Warning on Challenge of Defensive Rebuild Under New DC Jim Leonhard