BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills have appointed former team safety Jim Leonhard as their new defensive coordinator, the club announced Saturday.
The move signals a shift on the defensive side following the dismissal of Sean McDermott, who spent nine seasons leading the Bills and overseeing the defense.
Leonhard, 43, joins Buffalo after serving as defensive pass game coordinator and assistant head coach with the Denver Broncos. The Broncos fielded one of the NFL’s most dominant defenses this season, recording 68 sacks—just four shy of the league’s single-season record—and allowing the second-fewest yards per game (278.2).
He joined Denver’s staff in 2024 as defensive pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach. Before that, Leonhard worked as a senior football analyst at Illinois and spent 2016–2022 at Wisconsin, where he served primarily as defensive coordinator and briefly as interim head coach in 2022.
A former undrafted free agent out of Wisconsin, Leonhard played for the Bills from 2005 to 2007 and again in 2013. Over a 10-year NFL career, he also suited up for the Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, Denver Broncos, and Cleveland Browns, contributing on defense and special teams.
Leonhard becomes the second former Broncos assistant added to head coach Joe Brady’s staff in a coordinator role. Earlier this offseason, Buffalo hired Pete Carmichael as offensive coordinator. Brady and Carmichael previously worked together under Sean Payton with the New Orleans Saints during the 2017–18 seasons.
Although Brady and Leonhard have not previously coached together, Brady emphasized that experience and merit guided his hiring decisions.
“I only get one chance to be a head coach,” Brady said during his introductory press conference. “It’s about bringing in the best coaches for our players, because they deserve it.”
Leonhard also interviewed with the Los Angeles Chargers and Baltimore Ravens for defensive coordinator positions before accepting the Bills’ offer.
