BUFFALO, NY. (WKBW) — During the first week of voluntary OTAs for the Buffalo Bills, edge rusher Bradley Chubb had a very unique way of describing new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard.
Bradley Chubb called Jim Leonard “a quiet assassin” 👀 pic.twitter.com/o9Yqcn2I8o
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) May 23, 2026
As you could imagine, when we caught up with some of the guys on this Bills defense, they all agreed with that analysis in one way or another.
"He's a geek with this football stuff. He's a genius man, but he's cool," says cornerback Maxwell Hairston. "He says jokes and I be joking on him a little bit. Jim's cool, he's about his business."
"Just an all-ball approach. I haven't really gotten a chance to chop it up with him outside of things from here," adds defensive tackle TJ Sanders. "But from the times we've talked, it's been all ball."
"Coach Leonhard is my dog man," rookie wide receiver Skyler Bell, who was coached by Leonhard at Wisconsin, said. "That's a great dude, I love him to death, he's done a lot for me. And I'm glad to be in the same building as him again."
It's clear Leonhard has made a pretty immediate impact on this defense that hasn't seen much change schematically over the past nine years.
And it's also evident that he's learned a thing or two over the past four years when he stepped away from being a full-time defensive coordinator. That time away, Leonhard says, paid off in terms of how he approaches the game now.
"You know, I kind of intentionally took a step back because I felt like I skipped a couple of steps in the process to get to where I was," Leonhard told reporters on Tuesday. "It's easy as an assistant coach to say I would've done this differently or done that differently. Now you're the one making the decisions at times."
