Résumé: Now — University of Wisconsin defensive coordinator. Previously — The 38-year-old Leonhard, a three-time all-American safety at UW who played 10 NFL seasons with six different teams, broke into coaching with the Badgers in 2016 as defensive backs coach. He was promoted the following year to coordinator and has been one of college football’s rising coaching stars.
Who’s next? From Jim Leonhard to Wade Phillips to copying Bucs, Matt LaFleur has options for Packers' next defensive coordinator
For all that has been said and written about how much Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan have meant to Matt LaFleur’s career — and make no mistake, they’ve both meant a lot to the Green Bay Packers head coach as he’s risen up the ranks — LaFleur himself would argue there’s another coach who had just as much influence on him.
Dan Quinn.
1. Jim Leonhard
2. Jerry Gray
Résumé: Now — Packers defensive backs coach. Previously — The 58-year-old Gray, a four-time Pro Bowler in nine NFL seasons as a defensive back, has been a coordinator twice before, with the Buffalo Bills (2001-’05) and Tennessee Titans (2011-’13). He spent six seasons with the Minnesota Vikings as defensive backs coach under head coach Mike Zimmer before joining the Packers’ staff.
3. Mike Smith
Résumé: Now — Packers outside linebackers coach. Previously — The 39-year-old Smith, who played for Ryan and Pettine in Baltimore, broke into NFL coaching working for them with the Jets in 2010. He spent three seasons on the Kansas City Chiefs’ staff before Pettine and LaFleur brought him to Green Bay in 2019.
4. Wade Phillips
Résumé: Now — Spent 2020 out of football. Previously — The 73-year-old Phillips worked with LaFleur in 2017, when LaFleur was the Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator and Phillips was their defensive coordinator. He has been a head coach three times (Denver, Buffalo, Dallas) and an interim head coach two other times (Atlanta, Houston) while serving as a defensive coordinator nine times since entering the NFL coaching ranks in 1976 with his father Bum’s Houston Oilers. He Tweeted earlier this month that he wants to coach again.
5. Kris Richard
Résumé: Now — Spent 2020 out of football. Previously — The 41-year-old Richard was Seattle’s defensive coordinator (2015-’17) and ran Dallas’ defense (2018-’19), leading to multiple head-coaching interviews. After not getting any head-coaching or coordinator offers last offseason, he took the year off from coaching.
6. Kris Kocurek
Résumé: Now — San Francisco 49ers defensive line coach. Previously — The 42-year-old Kocurek spent nine seasons with the Detroit Lions and one with the Miami Dolphins before joining the 49ers in 2019. He spent two years working under now-Jets head coach Robert Saleh, one of LaFleur’s closest friends, and LaFleur could want to mimic the scheme Saleh ran in San Francisco.
7. Chris Shula
Résumé: Now — Rams outside linebackers coach. Previously — Shula, the grandson of Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Don Shula and son of former Cincinnati head coach David Shula, just finished his fourth season with the Rams and his time in L.A. overlapped with LaFleur’s. Before joining McVay’s staff in 2017, he spent two years with the Los Angeles Chargers as a defensive quality control coach. Set to turn 35 next week, Shula was McVay’s college teammate at Miami (Ohio) for four years.
8. Kacy Rodgers
Résumé: Now — Buccaneers defensive line coach. Previously — The 51-year-old Rodgers was Bowles’ defensive coordinator with the Jets (2015-’18) before joining Bowles in Tampa, where he coaches a defensive line that gave the Packers fits en route to Super Bowl LV.
9. Mike Caldwell
Résumé: Now — Buccaneers inside linebackers coach. Previously — The 49-year-old Caldwell is also well-versed in Bowles’ scheme, having worked for him in New York as the Jets’ assistant head coach and inside linebackers coach (2015-’18). The Packers struggled against Caldwell’s two stars in Lavonte David and Devin White in both meetings this season.
10. Teryl Austin
Résumé: Now — Pittsburgh Steelers secondary coach. Previously — The 55-year-old Austin has defensive coordinator experience with the Lions (2014-’17) and the Cincinnati Bengals (2018) and interviewed for the Tennessee Titans opening earlier this month before Shane Bowen was promoted. His Lions defenses were highly regarded and he’s interviewed for multiple head-coaching jobs in recent years.
In their end-of-season news conferences, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst and coach Matt LaFleur had a clear message for Aaron Rodgers: You’re our guy. In 2021, in 2022 and probably longer.
Head coach Matt Lafleur said Monday he wants the Packers defense to be more aggressive than it was at times under Mike Pettine.
Whether free agent running back Aaron Jones will play for Green Bay again remains to be seen — and is up, in part, to him and his new agent, Drew Rosenhaus.
For Jim Leonhard, would allure of Packers, NFL be enough to make him leave the ‘dream job’ he loves?
An NFL source confirmed Packers coach Matt LaFleur was set to talk with Badgers defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard about the Packers’ vacant position, though it was unclear when that conversation was going to take place and just how intensely Leonhard was pursuing the opportunity.
Wisconsin State Journal photographer Steve Apps captured all the action from Lambeau Field as the Green Bay Packers fell to the Tampa Bay Bucc…
