According to ESPN insider Adam Schefter, Denver Broncos defensive pass game coordinator Jim Leonhard is expected to be a leading candidate to become the Bills’ next defensive coordinator. Leonhard’s candidacy surfaces as the Bills seek a top defensive mind to complement their high-powered offense.
Leonhard helped the Broncos finish 2025 with the third-fewest points allowed and the league’s best pass-defense efficiency, yielding the fewest yards per attempt. His recent NFL coaching experience and track record on defense have positioned him as a premier option for Buffalo.
The 43-year-old former NFL safety played 10 seasons across several teams, including the Bills, Ravens, Jets, Broncos, and Browns, before retirement in 2014. He entered coaching soon after, beginning at Wisconsin as a defensive backs coach in 2016 and rising to defensive coordinator in 2017, with a stint as interim head coach in 2022.
Leonhard then spent time with Illinois as a senior football analyst in 2023, before returning to the NFL with the Broncos in 2024 as defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator. In 2025 he was promoted to assistant head coach and defensive pass game coordinator.
If hired, this would mark Leonhard’s first NFL defensive coordinator role. It would also bring him back to the Bills, the franchise that gave him his first NFL opportunity as an undrafted free agent out of Wisconsin in 2005.
