All in the family: Wisconsin's staff full of former players

Paul Chryst joked at the Big Ten Media Days earlier this week that he would call Jim Leonhard on a yearly basis in order to gauge his interest in coaching.

After a 10-year career in the NFL, Leonhard, a former all-American safety at Wisconsin, was ready to get serious about Chryst’s inquiries. This February, Daronte Jones’ departure to the Miami Dolphins created the perfect opportunity for Leonhard to begin his coaching career at UW.

“It’s been fun for me to see our players work with Jim,” Chryst said Tuesday. “He has a great ability to make a coaching point. I was fortunate to be a coach when he was a player and have certainly tracked his career.

“He’s not coaching because he was a great player at Wisconsin and the NFL, he’s a really good coach and he’s been fun to be around.”

Leonhard, the first sophomore to be named Wisconsin’s team MVP since 1947, recently completed his first spring camp as the Badgers’ defensive backs coach.

“Coach Jimmy is special,” senior cornerback Sojourn Shelton said at the Big Ten Media Days. “It’s one of those things — he’s someone that you can tell just loves football. There’s been times where we came in to watch one game of film and he’s pulling up stuff from the NFL. He truly loves the game of football. That’s probably the biggest point that I’ve seen since he’s been here, which is preparing yourself the right way and understanding that film tells you everything.

“His coaching style is fun. He’s a coach who brings it every day and wants to have fun with football. And he understands it because he’s played in the NFL and he’s providing us with a lot of avenues to be great and try and make as many plays as we can.”

Chryst’s desire to bring Leonhard on staff also speaks to a larger philosophy of working with those he trusts. Looking at Wisconsin's 2016 staff, Chryst seems to value coaches who have played at Camp Randall and who can relay those experiences to current players.

“It’s not by accident,” Chryst said. “Part of our job when a kid comes to Wisconsin and goes through it, you want them to be ready for the next chapter of their life. Whatever that chosen path is, I think it’s our job to help them try and find it.

“If a player has gone through it and wants to get into coaching, I’d love for it to be an option. I am going to hire people I know, if possible, or if I don’t know them that I trust someone who knows them, because I think the people make the difference. You know who these people are when times are good and when times are tough.”

One of the newest additions to the graduate staff is Al Johnson, a former UW offensive lineman who played in the NFL and was most recently the offensive coordinator at Division 3 St. Norbert.

“I feel really, really lucky to have Al on our staff. He’s kind of been searching for what he wants to do,” Chryst said. “He would come out to Pittsburgh and visit us and it’s been fun to see him get into coaching and get a chance to work with him. He’ll bring a ton— not just through the offensive line but for all of our kids and coaches.

“And that’s what I love about our staff, everyone wants to learn and everyone wants to pick each other’s brain. I’m excited about Al and I’m excited about our players getting to know him.”

Chyrst also acknowledged that not every situation works out. Bill Nagy and Ethan Armstrong were both on staff recently but found out that coaching wasn't for them. That experience, though, is still valuable in the long term.

"Those guys found out that coaching wasn't what they wanted to do," Chryst said. "But that's still important. I'm glad they were able to figure that out at Wisconsin and move forward."