Former Buffalo Bills defensive end Jim Leonhard is working his way through the NFL coaching ranks after a successful stint at the college level on Sean Payton’s staff in Denver.ESPN’s Dan Graziano reported on February 11 that Leonhard was hired by the Broncos, marking a rapid rise for the 41-year-old coach.”In non-Super Bowl pregame news: Sources tell @JFowlerESPN and I Jim Leonhard expected to join Denver Broncos staff as secondary coach.” Graziano wrote of X. “Leonhard is a former NFL DB who is highly respected in coaching and has been in talks with several NFL and college teams.Jim Leonhard has risen through the ranksAs Pro Football Talk reported, Leonhard has spent the last seven years in college to begin a five-year stint as the defensive coordinator at the University of Wisconsin.Leonhard finished his time there as interim head coach and then served as a defensive analyst at Illinois for the 2023 season.Leonhard previously attracted NFL interest by turning down the Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator job in 2021 and then interviewed with the Philadelphia Eagles for their defensive coordinator opening in February 2023.Some close to Leonhard expected him to land an NFL job this that recruiting cycle. Illinois coach Bret Bielema predicted he would return to his college job only if an NFL team didn’t select him first.”He and I had a million conversations, not about work, Jimmy is just a guy that I like to take things and where they are,” Bielema told reporters on February 7, via the Denver Post. “I don’t want to get into his business, but I think this: If he doesn’t have the things he wants at a different level than ours — not in college — then I think we’re going to come back to that. . “Jim Leonhard’s tenure in BuffaloAfter a four-year career in Wisconsin, Leonhard broke into the NFL in 2005 as an undrafted rookie with the Bills. He was the only undrafted rookie to make the final 53-man roster that season. He appeared in five games and made 10 total saves.Leonhard spent the next two seasons in Buffalo, playing in 28 more games before bouncing around the league for the next seven seasons. He returned to Buffalo in 2013, having one of his best seasons in the league with 41 total tackles and a career-high four interceptions.Leonhard joins several other former Bills players in high-profile coaching roles around the league. Former quarterback Frank Reich served as head coach of the Carolina Panthers but was fired in November after going 1-10. Another former Bills quarterback, Alex Van Pelt, was also named offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots.When Van Pelt got the job, legendary Bills quarterback Jim Kelly congratulated his former quarterback and said he forgave him for joining their division rival.”We’re going to have dinner, but he got a call from the (Las Vegas) Raiders to go in for an interview,” Kelly told ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “Then I found out where he landed, the Patriots and I was like, ‘Come on, man!'””It was almost like when Thurman (Thomas) went to the Dolphins and I said to him, ‘How did you do. . do that? and #039;.