Packers fans make local connection for potential DC opening

Green Bay Packers fans are looking towards a local name to become the team’s next defensive coordinator.

The Green Bay Packers enter Week 12 with just four wins to their credit. All of the attention is on the offensive side of the ball, whether it’s the wide receivers corps or quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ broken thumb. But the defense has been equally disappointing under coordinator Joe Barry. Specifically, they’ve struggled against the run (135.8 yards per game entering Week 12), although remain one of the best pass defenses in the game (192.5 yards per game).

For Packers fans who wanted Barry gone have pinpointed his replacement.

The University of Wisconsin football program is reportedly poaching Luke Fickell from Cincinnati to be their new head coach. With that, interim head coach and defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard is probably out.

With this news, Packers fans let it be known that they want Leonhard.

Packers fans want Wisconsin’s Jim Leonhard to be their new defensive coordinator

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After the Badgers fired Paul Chryst, Leonhard was promoted to head coach on an interim basis for the remainder of the campaign. In the role, the Badgers went 4-3 under Leonhard.

Leonhard to the Packers wasn’t just talk among the fanbase. Prior to the 2021 league year, head coach Matt LaFleur was trying to pry Leonhard away from the Badgers football program. But in Feb. 2021, Leonhard informed LaFleur that he planned on staying at the university.

It will really be a matter of whether Leonhard will want to head to the Packers or if the team will even be interested in hiring him. This is all contingent if Green Bay opts to move on from Barry.

This season, Wisconsin’s defense under Leonhard surrendered an average of 20.5 points (25th-best) and 305.4 yards (13th-best) per game, per NCAA.com.

Green Bay looks to get back in the win column in Week 12, as they try to stop the Philadelphia Eagles and their offense. If that doesn’t happen, the calls for Leonhard by Packers fans will only grow.