Wisconsin DC Jim Leonhard
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Barry Alvarez was LB coach for 6 years at Iowa then 2 years as DC for Notre Dame when Wisconsin hired him as their head coach. Alvarez turned Wisconsin into a powerhouse even though he had no head coaching experience.
Leonhard would be a bold move, no doubt. You put him on the short list for an interview and let him make the case.
This much is almost certain: Jim Leonhard has a proven record as an outstanding DC at Wisconsin, arguably the best in the B10. Alvarez agrees with me. He will be a head coach in the very near future. Give him a shot.
If you only give someone 4 years to recruit to their system and then fire them you'll get the same result.
I don’t care what path we take, just would like to win.
My only issue with Scott is our team looks just like it did year one, sometimes much worse
There is a connection:
In his year off between retiring from the NFL and being named DB coach for the Badgers Leonhard spent his time studying college film with then-Wisconsin Defensive Coordinator Dave Aranda and familiarizing himself with schemes that exist in college football that aren't prevalent in the NFL, such as the zone-read option offense.
It doesn't matter how many recruiting years you give if the best players keep leaving or rarely play
Alvarez won a state title as a high school coach, then spent 8 years (not 6) as the Iowa LB coach, before 2 years at ND where he led a defense that won a national title.
The point is that Alvarez had no college head coachng experience but Wisconsin recognized his potential. Schools with a head coach opening that pass on Leonhard will end up regretting that decision IMO.
Leonhard's background practically screams success......
-- zero college football offers. Walked-on at Wisconsin and earned All-Big Ten three times (Alvarez didn't put him on scholarship until his senior year!)
-- undrafted but ended up playing in the NFL 10 years. Played in 142 games for six different NFL teams, starting most of them.
-- the best or near best B10 defense in 5 years as Wisconsin DC
No one is a sure bet but Leonhard sure looks like he has what an AD with a vision would be looking for in a head coach.
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If we have an opening and if we go the coordinator route, Leonhard would be an inspired choice. Knows the Big 10 and would be expected to put a fundamentally solid team on the field that plays great defense and doesn’t beat itself.
I would enjoy watching a Husker team that did that. But I’m not yet convinced we’ll have an opening.
I would enjoy watching a Husker team that did that. But I’m not yet convinced we’ll have an opening.
He pretty much described what happened with Iowa in 1999. They took a flyer on Ferentz after Stoops jumped at a better offer.
By year 3 they were in a bowl game.
Year 4 they were in the Orange Bowl.
I'm not saying we want KKKF, I'm saying by year 4 you know whether you have the right person.
Only the last one means a single thing, the rest is just meaningless drivel.
Not saying he won’t be a good head coach, but he’s not the guy you spend 20 million in buyouts to hire.
I don't believe his player background is drivel and I did note that in comparing Leonhard to Barry Alvarez you thought it was important to point out that unlike Leonhard, Alvarez won a state title as head coach at Dubuque Hemstead High School.
It’s certainly not the worst candidate, but like others have said there’s a lot of question marks. Can he assemble a staff with P5 experience at all three phases and positions? If he can do that I think he would have a good shot at getting Nebraska back to 9 wins a year.
Or pay him the going rate.
If you think you are getting your top choice for HC there is no reason to lowball.
4 million a year with a 500K bonus for winning the division and another 500k for winning the conference.
I've liked Jim Leonhard for awhile now, but think the jump to head coach here is a little much. I'd rather we hire a head coach with more experience, then poach him as a DC. He's the type of DC you pay $2 million for if Wisconsin wants to cheap out on his salary.
Conversely, a coach who can't coach players to be better no matter what the scheme is no coach.
It shouldn't take 4 years or more to even be a .500 team for crying out loud.
You expect some improvement though, right?
Quite a bit can happen in 4 years time.. It's groundhog day around here and the university isn't seeing much return on their investment.
The problem with that is I suspect Leonhard's next job is a step up to head coach. He is a guy that is climbing the coaching ladder so I don't think he would leave Wisconsin for the same position at another school even if the pay was more.
If Chryst would decide to leave in the next couple of years I have to believe that Leonhard would be the leading candidate to take over the reigns.
Yeah you're probably right about that. We might have already missed the window for him. Iowa's DC would probably be a more realistic option for that scenario.
There's nothing wrong with discussing names of good coaches.
Once a new head coach starts winning, that will be what people talk about.
I suppose this comment is directed at me. Leonhard is the only coach that I've promoted as a possible head coach. You may have heard that Scott Frost's future at Nebraska is a bit tenuous at the moment. Are you just going to pretend that Alberts is not evaluating replacement prospects? Nothiing wrong with fans doing the same.
Names of good coaches. That's a laugh. An interesting discussion would be coming up with names that haven't been suggested. Opinions vary; mine is that it's pointless. To each their own.
You’re crazy. Nebraska would be nuts to fire Frost. Get a QB that isn’t scared to win and Nebraska will be dang good.
If you were around 4 years ago Frost would have been at the top of your list. Think about that.
Frost is the one that hasn’t found a QB to beat out Martinez besides his side kick Verduzzco helping him land one..
There is a difference between something being "wrong" and something that provides no value. So someone, perhaps antirow, can explain to me the benefit of speculating, polls and throwing out names. Is it so someone can fell good about themselves when they have named every coach in college football and eventually they get hired somewhere? I will wait to hear about any people on this board being selected to be on the committee.
How many coaches do?
I could use the same logic. "You guys act like playing .500 ball is easy and any coach can do that in 4 years."
Consider the last time we had a 1,000 yard rusher and a 1,000 yard receiver. We haven't come close to that in 3 years. Why?
Riley ran the program into the ground, left a culture of snowflakes, and had minimal talent along with almost no depth.
Everyone who takes that should get more than 4 years.
We have played well against top 10 teams this year. To act like there hasn't been improvement seems dishonest.
Where is this improvement? That "we played top teams tough" crap won't do considering Kansas can do the same.
The only improvement that really matters is in the win column and that isn't improving..
if you cant get to a bowl game in 4 years you should be fired every time. Does not take 5 years to go 6-6.