Badgers Should Consider Lance Leipold As Their Next Head Coach

By: Melo Williams 

UW Director of Athletics Chris McIntosh parted ways with Badgers’ head coach Paul Chryst on Sunday.

After the Badgers’ lost 34-10 to former Badgers’ head coach, now Illinois head coach Bret Bielema dropped the Badgers’ to 2-3 to start the 2022 season, it was time and the right time for Badgers Director of Athletics McIntosh to part ways with Chryst.

Chryst was in his eighth season as the Badgers’ head coach but Wisconsin football had taken a turn for the worst in recent years under Paul Chryst and the timing seemed right to move on and start a new chapter in Wisconsin Badgers football history.

In Chryst’s eight seasons as Wisconsin’s head coach, he led the Badgers to a 67-26 record, including a 43-18 mark in Big Ten Conference play with a .720 winning percentage. Chryst is a two-time Big Ten Coach of the Year, and has three Big Ten West Division crowns with a 6-1 record in bowl games.

McIntosh said he had a conversation with Coach Chryst and described the conversation he had with Paul Chryst as “heartfelt and authentic.” McIntosh went on to say that “In the long-term best interest of our football program I have concluded that now is the time for a change in leadership.”

McIntosh announced in the same released press release that defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard has been named interim head coach of the Wisconsin football team.

“I also have confidence in Jim Leonhard to guide the program for the remainder of the season. There is still a lot of season left to play and I know Jim will do a great job while the program is under his leadership.”

I think Jim Leonhard is the perfect candidate and should be the #1 name on the list to be named as the next permanent head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers football team. For probably every reason that every #OnWisconsin Badger fan wants Jim Leonhard to be the head coach, I most likely agree with them. His resume speaks for itself and checks every box. From Leonhard playing days in college to his ten years spent in the NFL, he has always done his job exceptionally well and even as the Badgers defensive coordinator. The Badgers have always had one of the best defenses in college football with Leonhard as its DC. So if Jim Leonhard is the next person to be chosen as the Badgers’ head coach I’m all for it.

However, I have another name that UW Director of Athletics Chris McIntosh should take into serious consideration, University of Kansas Head Coach Lance Leipold.

Lance Leipold was born and raised in Wisconsin as well like Chris McIntosh and Jim Leonhard. All three are connected through former Wisconsin Badger great head coach and Athletic Director Barry Alvarez. McIntosh and Leonhard played for Alvarez. Leipold was a Graduate Assistant coach for Barry from 1991-1993.

Lance was born in Jefferson, WI about one hour from Madison, WI, and attended Jefferson High School. He was a quarterback for Jefferson High earning all-area honors and an honorable mention all-state honor his senior year after completing 114 of 198 passes for 1,848 yards and 19 touchdowns. Jefferson’s passing game was so elite with Leipold, they were nicknamed “Air Jefferson.”

Leipold attended the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater from 1983 to 1986. Leipold was starting for Whitewater his junior and senior helping the Warhawks win Wisconsin state college conference championship in 1984. Leipold was inducted into the Whitewaters Hall of Fame in 2003.

Lance Leipold served as an assistant coach at Nebraska-Omaha and Nebraska until he was hired at his college alma mater the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He coached the Warhawks from 2007 to 2014 and guided the Warhawks to six NCAA Division III Football Championships in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2014. In 2008 they were runner-ups. While at Wisconsin-Whitewater, Leipold led the Warhawks to 5 undefeated seasons, and seven WIAC championships in eight seasons. Other than the 2012 season, Leipold teams never ranked below No. 15 in any D3 college football poll. The 2010, 2011, and 2014 teams were ranked No 1 throughout the season.

Leipold reached 100 wins faster than any other coach in NCAA football history. He did it in his 106th game on October 18, 2014. It beat the previous mark of 108 games set by Gil Dobie in 1921.

In 2015 Leipold signed with the University at Buffalo on a five-year contract. In Leipold’s first three seasons at Buffalo, the Bulls had records of 5–7, 2–10, and 6–6. In 2018 the Bulls won ten games winning the MAC East Division title with a bid to the Dollar General Bowl. With success in college football, the bigger universities step in with their big bank accounts and throw the bag with perks at coaches to lure them away from other schools. The University of Kansas came calling and Coach Leipold accepted the Jayhawks offer in May of 2021. From 2015-2020, Leipold combined a winning record of 37–33, two MAC East Division titles, three bowl bids, and two bowl wins.

In Leipold’s his first game as head coach of the Jayhawks they defeated South Dakota 17–14 giving the Jayhawks their first win just shy of two months of two years. That same 2021 season, Kansas defeated Texas for only the second time in the history of the Big 12 Conference with that being their first win on the road against the Longhorns. The victory ended multiple losing streaks for the Jayhawks, including 8 straight overall losses, 18 straight within the Big 12, 20 straight to FBS opponents, and 56 straight in road conference games. Leipold finished 2–10 overall and 1–8 in conference play in his first season as the Jayhawks head coach.

Lance Leipold Jayhawks is off to a blazing start in 2022. KU is 5-0 for the first time since the 2009 season, with wins at home against Tennessee Tech (56-10), Duke (35-27), and Iowa State (14-11) and on the road against West Virginia (55-42, OT) and Houston (48-30). Kansas is ranked No. 19 and Kansas State No. 20 in this week’s  AP Top 25 college football poll.

In five games, Kansas is averaging 41.6 points per game, which ranks No. 12 in the country, while averaging 421.8 total yards of offense. Something the Badgers lack, the ability to score points. For Wisconsin to be dubbed as “RBU” the Badgers run game has been struggling as well since Jonathan Taylor was drafted in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Again, yes I feel and know Jim Leonhard is the right guy for the job. He has the pedigree. He can reach the recruits and is a helluva defensive coach. My question is, will Leonhard be able to get the offensive players like a QB and WR’s like Leipold? I’m not sure. If we’re going off resume and stats, head coaching experience, and with the Badgers needing an offensive change and identity, Lance Leipold would be the perfect candidate for leading the Badgers back to that national stardom that Barry Alvarez built the Badgers football program up to be.

I know the Badgers’ head coaching job is most likely Jim Leonhard’s rightfully so, but the University of Kansas has a winning coach with Lance Leipold who has built a winning culture everywhere he’s been as a coach and today is one of the best coaches in college football.