Illinois football announced it is hiring former Wisconsin interim head coach Jim Leonhard as a senior football analyst.
Leonhard was a longtime safety who went to college at Wisconsin and played 10 seasons in the NFL. After retiring in 2016, Leonhard joined Wisconsin as a defensive backs coach, and he was promoted to defensive coordinator just a year later.
In 2023, Wisconsin promoted Leonhard to interim head coach midseason after firing Paul Chryst in October. As head coach, Leonhard led Wisconsin to a 4–3 regular season record and a bowl game win in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl vs. Oklahoma State.