Grading 5 Joe Barry replacements the Packers should consider hiring

1. Jim Leonhard (Former Wisconsin DC)

Though I'm not sure what Jim Leonhard's nickname is -- or if he even has one -- we can call him the "White Whale" in this case as the former Wisconsin defensive coordinator and current Illinois Fighting Illini analyst seems to be the guy that Packers fans have been holding out hope for to replace Barry for quite some time now.

And why wouldn't that be the case? Leonhard orchestrated and developed high-end defenses consistently for the Badgers throughout his time in Madison, where he arrived as an assistant in 2016 and worked his way up the latter to DC. But after he wasn't given the Wisconsin head coaching job when Paul Chryst was fired, he has kept a relatively low profile.

Perhaps this is a bit too tinfoil-hatty, but perhaps he was waiting on this job with the Packers? Leonhard has deep ties to the area, a native of Tony, WI and having played and coached at Wisconsin. Furthermore, he has proven himself as a coach throughout his career with many wondering why a big college program or another NFL team hasn't swooped him up in the past two years for a DC role.

This might be the reason, the vacancy created by Barry's firing. He's the hard-nosed type of leader that players love and who has brought the best out of many different types of talents when it comes to his scheme -- developed likely from playing under Rex Ryan and Mike Pettine during those two's heyday -- and would be a fan-favorite from the moment he arrived.

To be quite clear, there is no guarantee that Leonhard would work with the Packers or in the NFL. That's the case with almost any hire, though. So as far as taking a calculated risk goes, it's hard to think of a better option for Green Bay than this one.

Grade: A