Tag: Jim Leonhard

16 names to watch for LSU’s open defensive coordinator role

These 16 names could make a good fit for LSU’s next defensive playcaller.

After months of speculation, it finally happened.

[autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] announced that LSU defensive coordinator [autotag]Matt House[/autotag], along with defensive assistants [autotag]Robert Steeples[/autotag], [autotag]Kerry Cooks[/autotag] and [autotag]Jimmy Lindsey[/autotag], would not be retained.

Both coordinator positions are open now, but much of the spotlight will be directed at the defensive side given how bad that unit was in 2023.

Before House, Kelly had a good record of hiring DCs. Its a list that includes Mike Elko, Marcus Freeman and Clark Lea. All are now Power Five head coaches, and Elko and Lea are in the SEC.

The expectation should be for Kelly to make a hire closer to that than what we saw with House.

Here are 16 names Kelly should pursue.

Penn State hires new defensive coordinator, and it’s not Jim Leonhard

We don’t have to ask questions about Jim Leonhard anymore.

When USC did not hire Jim Leonhard as offensive coordinator, some Trojan fans wondered if Lincoln Riley settled for second-best. However, if we were to accept the idea that Lincoln Riley didn’t try hard enough to hire Leonhard, we needed to see if other prominent Big Ten programs were going to land him in the offseason.

When Michigan State didn’t hire Leonhard, that was one sign that Leonhard simply didn’t want a college defensive coordinator job. However, with Penn State’s defensive coordinator job open, we had to wait and see what the Nittany Lions would do. If they hired Leonhard, Lincoln Riley would have received — and deserved — fresh scrutiny.

That did not happen.

Per Nittany Lions Wire, Penn State is hiring Tom Allen (the former Indiana head coach) as its defensive coordinator.

“The 2020 Big Ten coach of the year always seemed like a name that fits what Penn State was trying to achieve with its defense,” Nittany Lions Wire wrote. “With Diaz leaving for the head coaching position at Duke, another defensive head coach with a lot of experience always seemed like a likely option for Franklin and Penn State.

“Allen runs a 4-2-5 defense, which places a heavy emphasis on the defensive line, which should be a strength of next year’s team. His Indiana team played Penn State tough this year, with the Nittany Lions eventually pulling away for a 33-24 win.”

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire.

Jim Leonhard not hired for Michigan State defensive coordinator position

Michigan State did not hire Jim Leonhard.

If you missed this piece of news from a few days ago, it’s worth passing along: Jonathan Smith and Michigan State hired Minnesota defensive coordinator Joe Rossi for the Spartans’ defensive coordinator position.

Spartans Wire has more:

“This defensive coordinator is going to have a great deal of autonomy over the defense.

“(Jonathan) Smith has found his man: Joe Rossi, who has spent the past five seasons as the Minnesota Golden Gophers defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.”

USC fans upset at the Trojans’ inability to land Jim Leonhard as defensive coordinator need to pay attention to other Big Ten coaching vacancies. Michigan State had an open defensive coordinator spot. One presumes that if Leonhard really wanted that job, MSU would have offered it to him. As was the case with USC, Leonhard probably wasn’t interested.

The next job to watch is Penn State. Manny Diaz’s departure has left that position open. If Leonhard doesn’t take it, it probably means Leonhard is holding out for either a college head coaching job or an NFL coordinator position.

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire.

Hypothetical: What would happen if USC does land Tony White as defensive coordinator?

What matters most is USC getting a good defensive coordinator, but other scenarios could be bad for the Trojans.

The coaching carousel intrigue is building right now. There’s a lot of chatter and speculation about Nebraska defensive coordinator Tony White coming to USC. It could have legs, but it could just as easily be a trial balloon or a smokescreen setting up a different move from the Trojans. Before any announcement of a hire, let’s play around with some hypotheticals.

Let’s say that Tony White is the guy for USC and the Trojans secure the Nebraska assistant. It would be a good move. White is a quality defensive coordinator, and USC needs a quality defensive coordinator. No complaints there if it happens.

However: Getting Tony White means USC did not get Jim Leonhard, arguably the most coveted defensive coordinator candidate in college football.

Given that Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the open head coaching job at Duke — to replace Mike Elko, who went to Texas A&M — there is a possibility that Ohio State’s defensive coordinator job could open up and be filled by Leonhard.

There is also a possibility that Michigan State, without a defensive coordinator at the moment, could swoop in and pick off Leonhard, uniting him with Jonathan Smith.

Those would be two bad outcomes for USC. The Trojans would love having Tony White, but if Jim Leonhard lands at Ohio State (in particular) or Michigan State, that would sting. Let’s hope Leonhard — if he doesn’t get the USC job — waits for a head coaching position in this carousel cycle.

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire.

Coaching carousel rumor mill: Ohio State DC Jim Knowles in play for Duke HC job

This could complicate things for USC in its pursuit of Jim Leonhard.

The coaching carousel is spinning. Some actual transactions have occurred in recent days, but a lot more of the action right now is confined to rumor and speculation.

One interesting piece of speculation is that Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles is being considered for the open Duke head coaching job vacated by Mike Elko, who went to Texas A&M.

Buckeyes Wire has more on the story:

Offensive line coach Justin Frye has been connected to the open Indiana head coaching position, and now defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has at least been mentioned as a potential fit to take over the Duke program by one publication.

The Blue Devils saw their head coach Mike Elko leave to take over Texas A&M, which is why they have a vacancy. 247Sports Brad Crawford believes that Knowles would be a fit, especially considering he used to be a coordinator for Duke while David Cutcliffe was leading the program.

The key here is that “sources tell 247Sports that they’re unsure if he’s interested in being a head coach at this stage of his career.”

If Knowles does want the Duke job, Ohio State and USC would both have defensive coordinator vacancies. Michigan State, another 2024 Big Ten program, also has a vacancy. This could complicate any scenario for USC in terms of getting either Jim Leonhard or Tom Allen to come to Los Angeles.

Stay with Trojans Wire for extensive coaching carousel coverage and analysis.

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire.

Ten Potential candidates to be the next defensive coordinator of Michigan State football

10 possible candidates that can be the next defensive coordinator at Michigan State

With the hiring of Jonathan Smith as Michigan State’s next head football coach, it also means that there will be a new staff coming to East Lansing. While Smith has already gotten a huge jump on hiring his staff, click here to view who has been hired by Smith so far, he has yet to announce who will be serving as the defensive coordinator for his staff.

Smith had two defensive coordinators throughout his tenure at Oregon State, so there are several options and possibilities for Smith to explore.

Let’s take a look at some of the potential candidates that could potentially be in the mix for MSU’s defensive coordinator position:

Coaching carousel primer for USC’s defensive coordinator search: what to watch for in the coming weeks

It’s that time again!

It’s that time again! USC has to find a coach — not a head coach, but a coordinator. It’s a hugely important search and a defining moment for Lincoln Riley. Alex Grinch got fired, which is undeniably good, but this matters only if Riley and athletic director Jennifer Cohen find an elite replacement for Grinch. Jim Leonhard is the guy most USC fans want. He is also our preferred No. 1 choice as well. However, this is where we have to remind you that a school’s top choice might not want to coach at that school. The interest and desire have to be mutual. If not, USC has to pivot to a second choice, and then a third choice, if the next few candidates say no.

USC needs to be ready and able to have rock-star quality in its fourth, fifth and sixth choices. Cohen and Riley need to have a list in which their various options are all good, and they don’t have a weak choice too high on their menu.

Here is our guide to the ins and outs of this USC defensive coordinator search. It’s a lot more than just having a top target. That’s the easy part. The hard part is when the top target says no and the adjustments have to be made on the fly.

If Jim Leonhard says yes, this is very easy for USC … but we don’t expect Leonhard to say yes. We’ll explain that and a lot more below in this coaching carousel primer:

10 names to watch if LSU makes a change at defensive coordinator

If LSU decides to make a change at defensive coordinator, these names could be next up in Baton Rouge.

LSU’s defense wildly underperformed in 2023.

After a strong 2022, the unit was expected to make a jump in Brian Kelly’s second year. Instead, it has gone a completely different direction.

LSU ranks 95th in scoring defense and 115th in yards per play allowed. Defensive coordinator [autotag]Matt House[/autotag] went from a head coaching candidate to someone LSU fans want to run out of town.

It’s not entirely on House. LSU lost five defensive backs who were expected to be key contributors, leaving true freshmen to start at cornerback. The front seven also had its fair share of attrition, from [autotag]Maason Smith[/autotag] missing the Florida State game to [autotag]Mekhi Wingo[/autotag] now out for the year.

Even taking all that into account, it shouldn’t be this bad. This is still a group with blue-chip recruits across the board and its looked downright incompetent at times.

It’s not a given LSU will make a change at DC. We’ve seen head coaches hold on to coordinators before, but if LSU does make a change, here are some potential replacements.

Wisconsin will face one of the program’s all-time legends on Saturday

Wisconsin will face one of the program’s all-time legends on Saturday:

Wisconsin is set for a trip to Champaign, Illinois on Saturday as the team looks to bounce back from its demoralizing 15-6 loss to Iowa.

The team is 4-2 on the season and 2-1 in Big Ten play. It cannot suffer any more conference losses with Iowa currently holding the tiebreaker and set with an easy schedule for the rest of the year.

Step one for the Badgers in returning to the top of the Big Ten West is beating Illinois, a program that embarrassed Wisconsin last year in Madison, is run by former Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema and also employs Wisconsin great Jim Leonhard as a senior assistant.

The last note presents an interesting dynamic this Saturday. It will be Leonhard’s first game coaching against Wisconsin, albeit in an off-the-field role, since the program opted to pass him over to hire Luke Fickell as head coach.

College football is about storylines. And Saturday’s revenge game for Jim Leonhard is as good as a storyline will get.

Everything you need to know about the 2023 Illinois Fighting Illini

Everything you need to know about the 2023 Illinois Fighting Illini:

Wisconsin is in need of a bounce-back week in the biggest way after its 15-6 loss to Iowa on Saturday. The opponent for that chance is Illinois, a 3-4 football team that has fallen far short of expectations.

The Badgers should have no trouble getting motivated for this contest. The team just suffered a demoralizing loss and Illinois embarrassed the program in Madison last season. Wisconsin should come out like the season is on the line and find a comfortable victory, even with Braedyn Locke under center.

There are several interesting storylines aside from the direct matchup on the field. None are more notable than former Wisconsin defensive coordinator and interim head coach Jim Leonhard acting as a senior assistant on Illinois’ staff.

Wisconsin’s season is now on the line every single week. Here’s what the team will be up against on Saturday: