With college football season around the corner, the Illinois football program is making a big addition to the coaching staff. Head coach Bret Bielema and the Illini are adding former Wisconsin DC and recent Badgers interim head coach Jim Leonhard to the staff, per the Illini Twitter account.

Leonhard is a former NFL player and began his coaching career at Wisconsin in 2016 before becoming the defensive coordinator. In 2022, he became the Wisconsin interim head coach after Paul Chryst got fired and then saw him head for a new position after Luke Fickell was hired away from Cincinnati.

Leonhard's name swirled among the NFL circles, and the Philadelphia Eagles were one team heavily linked to Leonhard for a potential job. However, now he returns to the Big Ten Conference as a senior football analyst and is a massive addition to Bielema's staff.

The Illinois football program finished the season with an 8-5 record and 5-4 in the Big Ten, putting them in second place in the Big Ten West and right behind Purdue for the top spot in the conference.

Leonhard played under Bret Bielema during his playing days at Wisconsin, so this is a reunion for the two. Once Chryst was fired, Leonhard was a rumored option to take the job, but the Badgers couldn't pass up the opportunity to hire Fickell away from Cincinnati after what he did what that program.

Nonetheless, Jim Leonhard is back in the Big Ten, and with a solid season, his name could circulate for head coach openings once again next offseason.