A year ago at this time, Jim Leonhard had never coached a game on a college football sideline. Actually, he’d never coached a game -- period. He’s now Wisconsin’s defensive coordinator -- and being paid accordingly.
A three-time All-Big Ten performer as a Wisconsin safety, Leonhard crafted a 10-year career for himself in the NFL. That career ended in 2014, and he spent the 2015 season studying coaches and the college game in anticipation of a career change.
Paul Chryst hired him when a spot coaching defensive backs opened on his staff prior to the ’16 campaign and, after a season in which the Badgers finished 10th nationally in yards per attempt allowed, Leonhard was promoted to defensive coordinator in February when Justin Wilcox became the head coach at Cal.
Now, according to the Wisconsin State Journal, we know how much Leonhard will make.
Leonhard inked a 2-year deal that will pay him $600,000 in 2017 and $625,000 in 2018. That’s a $375,000 raise from what Leonhard earned last season and $100,000 above Wilcox’s first-year salary in Madison, but $350,000 below what Wilcox was set to make had he returned to the Badgers.