Former Wisconsin interim football head coach Jim Leonhard will return to the Badgers as the team's defensive coordinator under head coach Luke Fickell, according to a Sunday report from Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Badgers beat reporter Jeff Potrykus.

It is unclear whether Mike Tressel, Fickell's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach with the Bearcats, will make the trip to Madison to serve as a co-coordinator with Leonhard, said Potrykus. Wisconsin ranked 13th in the country in yards allowed per game under Leonhard's guidance despite the loss of linebacker Jack Sanborn to the Chicago Bears.

Jim Leonhard, who played four seasons with the Wisconsin Badgers as a defensive back from 2001-04, was made the interim after Paul Chryst was released following a 34-10 victory from the Illinois Fighting Illini in early October. Leonhard still led the Badgers to bowl eligibility and a 4-3 record in his first-ever head coaching experience, blowing out the Northwestern Wildcats 42-7 and taking a statement win over a Big Ten Championship finalist in the Purdue Boilermakers.

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Leonhard agreed to return to his original spot one week after the Badgers finalized a deal with Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell to become Wisconsin's 37th lead man. Fickell, who earned a 57-18 record and a College Football Playoff semifinal appearance in 2021, owed $3.5 million to Cincinnati when he took his first Big Ten coaching job since 2016 and the possibility of earning $57 million over the course of 7 years.

“Luke is one of the top football coaches in the country,” Wisconsin Director of Athletics Chris McIntosh said in a statement. “He is a proven winner, recruiter and developer of players. Equally as important, he shares our values. Coach Fickell is focused on giving our student-athletes the best opportunities possible and is attuned to the changing landscape of college athletics.

“I have every confidence that he will respect and honor the foundation that has been set for our football program over the years while embracing the exciting opportunities ahead.”