Bills defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard reminisces on Jets ties ahead of homecoming

The New York Jets are preparing for their first matchup against their AFC East rival Buffalo Bills, and it's a bit of a homecoming of sorts for Bills defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard. The former Jets safety is in his first year coordinating a defense for Joe Brady's Buffalo staff.

Leonhard spent some of the best years of his playing career in New York. After spending one season with Rex Ryan as a member of the Baltimore Ravens in 2008, he followed him to the Jets as a free agent in 2009.

The undrafted free agent safety played three years for the Green & White, racking up 184 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, three interceptions, and 15 pass breakups. He was a key piece of those vaunted Jets defenses that went to back-to-back AFC Championship Games.

Now, all this time later, he'll be coaching against his old team for the first time as a defensive coordinator, and Leonhard has more than one tie to the Jets than just being a former player.

Jim Leonhard talks about his connections to the New York Jets

Speaking with reporters ahead of the Week 10 matchup, Leonhard was asked what it's going to be like to coach against Geno Smith, someone he played against at the tail end of his playing career. He noted that it's becoming a bit of a common occurrence for him over the last few years.

"We just played a head coach (Kevin O'Connell) that I played with, so, getting to that age, I guess. You know, Aaron Glenn coached me my last year in the NFL. So, it's always unique; you kind of grow into the business, and you start to see different names and faces that you're very familiar with."

Leonhard paid respect to Smith and spoke glowingly about his longevity in the league. He also spoke glowingly about third-year running back Braelon Allen, whom the coach recruited when he was at Wisconsin from 2016 to 2022.

"I've known Braelon for a long time. I've known him since he was 16 years old. Just seeing him coming into his own, playing with confidence, running behind his pads, the physicality, the vision that he's playing with-- anytime you have that two-headed monster... they're going to make you earn that tackle at the end of it."

There aren't many things the Bills will have their hands full with on Sunday, but one thing they may struggle with is completely shutting down the Jets' offense. You can question the coaching they have, but you can't discount those playmakers.

New York's defense won't be able to stop Josh Allen, but if their offense can put together multiple scoring drives (unlikely, given past outings), they may live up to Leonhard's praise.

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