Since January, the Buffalo Bills have had a ton of changes happen within the organization. From coaching changes to roster changes, this is a newer Bills team than what fans may have expected when their playoff run ended last year in the Divisional Round. However, here we are with a new look going into not just a new era of the team, but also a new stadium.
The biggest change that the Bills made was firing Sean McDermott, and then eventually promoting Joe Brady from offensive coordinator to head coach. Since taking over as the offensive coordinator in the middle of the 2023 season, Brady has been viewed as a rising head coaching candidate, and now he finally is one.
With him being hired, he was then tasked to bring in a coaching staff that would fit the vision that he has. First, he brought in Pete Carmichael Jr. as the offensive coordinator (even though Brady will still play calls), and then Brady landed arguably the biggest defensive coordinator steal in Jim Leonhard from the Denver Broncos.
Jim Leonhard is Bills' biggest home run hire from 2026 offseason
Working as the pass game coordinator for the best defense the last two seasons, Leonhard has had the chance to show his magic and he was set to become a defensive coordinator at some point sooner than later. The fact that the Bills, who were late to the head coaching cycle (two head coaches were already hired at that point), managed to get Leonhard when they did is extremely lucky.
Leonhard has made a fantastic impression so far amongst fans and players, and it quite honestly would not be a surprise to see him be one-and-done to move on to become a head coach. With the Bills defense being the biggest liability under Sean McDermott, Leonhard has the chance to show what he can do. If he can capitalize, he’s destined to lead his own team.
One advantage that Leonhard has is that he was a player, having played for the Bills, Jets, Ravens, Browns, and Broncos. One player that he was around in New York was an All-Pro cornerback in Darrelle Revis, who is not just in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but has even expressed interest in coaching with Leonhard, per Tim Graham of The Athletic (subscription may be required).
Darrelle Revis wants to coach with Jim Leonhard (and it should be a no-brainer move by Bills)
“I think Jim will be a future head coach,” Revis said. “Tell him if he needs a secondary coach to give me a call. Maybe this is my interview where I tell Jim that if he ever needs help, to keep me at the top of the list.” said Revis, per Graham.
With Graham reporting this about Revis and not just how much he loved playing with Leonhard, and his desire to coach with him as well, I don’t see how the Bills don’t consider this kind of pairing.
Let’s face it, it’s a new defensive identity for the defense of the Bills, and adding a former corner who was an All-Pro, Super Bowl champion, and is now in the Hall of Fame would give the secondary some great experience to learn from. Christian Benford would become an even better player than he is, and Maxwell Hairston would have a lot of room to improve in with Revis' guidance.
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