Although the Bills fired head coach Sean McDermott after another disappointing postseason defeat, they didn’t venture outside the building for his replacement. The Bills promoted offensive coordinator Joe Brady on Tuesday, though it doesn’t appear he’s content to run it back with McDermott’s staff.
Bobby Babich has been the Bills’ defensive coordinator since 2024, but his job is now in serious jeopardy. Broncos assistant head coach and defensive pass game coordinator Jim Leonhard is expected to emerge as a leading candidate for the Bills’ D-coordinator role, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. The Bills may become the fourth team this offseason to pursue Leonhard for that position.
Leonhard, 43, interviewed with the Cowboys and Jets earlier this month. The Cowboys have since hired Christian Parker, but the Jets’ gig is still available. Leonhard was also reportedly a finalist to become the Giants’ defensive coordinator before they hired Dennard Wilson.
An NFL defensive back from 2005-14, Leonhard spent a decent chunk of his career in Buffalo, where he played from 2005-07 and again in 2013. He went into coaching at his alma mater, Wisconsin, in 2016. Leonhard’s first (and only) experience as a defensive coordinator came with the Badgers from 2017-22. He also led the Badgers to a 4-3 record as an interim head coach in 2022, but he left after they hired Luke Fickell for the full-time post.
After Leonhard spent a year as a senior football analyst at Illinois, Broncos head coach Sean Payton offered him his first NFL coaching opportunity. Leonhard was the Broncos’ defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator in 2024, when cornerback Patrick Surtain II earned Defensive Player of the Year honors. The Broncos are now coming off a season in which they finished with the league’s seventh-ranked pass defense, earned the No. 1 seed in the AFC and advanced to the conference title game. Although the Broncos’ pass defense allowed just 86 yards to MVP candidate Drake Maye on a snowy Sunday, injured quarterback Bo Nix‘s absence proved too much to overcome in a 10-7 loss.
With Denver’s season over, Payton may soon have to replace Leonhard. If Leonhard returns to Buffalo as a coach, he’d grab the reins of a defense that ranked first against the pass, seventh in yards, 12th in scoring and 15th in takeaways in 2025. Those are solid to great numbers, but the Bills will need to repair a porous run defense and an unspectacular pass rush. Only four teams allowed more yards on the ground than the Bills, who finished a below-average 19th in sacks.
The Bills’ lack of pressure on Nix proved costly in a 33-30 loss to Denver in the divisional round. After failing to sack Nix in an elimination game, the Bills could turn to one of the Broncos’ coaches to lead their defense in 2026.