Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders is heading into year two in Boulder, needing both an offensive and defensive coordinator. Sean Lewis left Colorado’s offensive side to become the head coach at San Diego State, and Charles Kelly on the defensive side opted to head to Auburn.
Both are definitely losses for the Buffaloes, who are looking to improve on a 4-8 season. While Sanders hasn’t revealed much in his search for either coordinator spot, the rumor mill has mentioned a very prominent former Big Ten defensive coordinator to take over Coach Prime’s defense.
Per Rivals.com’s Cameron Lee, who’s in the know, it’s highly plausible that former Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard heads to Boulder join the Pro Football Hall of Famer’s staff. Lee took to X to say this about the possible move:
“Former Wisconsin DC and interim HC Jim Leonhard is close to joining Deion Sanders to become their new DC at Colorado. No deal done yet, but it is very close. Leonhard has declined NFL DC jobs, and the USC DC job among others.”
Leonhard Would Be Huge Addition For Buffs
Not only would Leonhard be a huge get as far as a defensive play-caller, he’s also help on the recruiting trail. The former NFL safety has routinely put together good units. During his six seasons as the Badgers defensive play-caller, the team finished third in scoring defense in 2017 and fourth in 2021. The other four years they ranked in the top 15 in the nation in scoring defense.
That’s something that the Buffaloes struggled with mightily in 2023, giving up over 35 points and nearly 470 yards per game. A lot of it was the lack of talent on the defensive side of the football, but some of the issues stemmed from the scheme that the aforementioned Kelly implemented. Leonhard’s defense from a scheme standpoint is much more innovative than Kelly’s.
One of the big differences you’d see with Leonhard is the amount of pressure he’ll bring and letting his defensive backs play more man to man. With Travis Hunter and Cormani McClain, the top cornerback recruits in 2022 and 2023, respectively, he’ll be able to do that with relative ease.
Leonhard’s Recruiting Ties Would Help
With Big Ten ties in recruiting, adding Leonhard would immediately boost the Buffaloes’ visibility in the Midwest part of the country. That’s where Sanders could tap into some of the bigger and better lineman for his program, which is something that was a glaring weakness in 2023. While the transfer portal was good to them in that regard, and he also landed Jordan Seaton, the top-ranked offensive tackle in the class, that isn’t always gonna happen.
Leonhard’s connections should allow Coach Prime and the Buffs to land elite blue chip recruits right out of high school from that area. With the move back to the Big 12 beginning in 2024, imagine having a Big Ten line in that conference.
That would set the program up for long-term success, which is something Coach Prime is aiming for.
