Two bits of Green Bay Packers-related news from Saturday: former passing game coordinator Derrick Ansley is headed to Dallas, while Jim Leonhard finally has a defensive coordinator job.
According to Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports, Ansley — who was replaced in Green Bay by former Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Bobby Babich — is expected to be hired by the Cowboys. He will join the defensive staff led by Christian Parker, a former Packers assistant coach who interviewed with Matt LaFleur for the defensive coordinator job during this cycle.
Ansley spent two seasons as the defensive pass game coordinator under Jeff Hafley.
Meanwhile, the Bills have a new defensive coordinator under coach Joe Brady. It’s Leonhard, a Wisconsin native who was expected to be a top candidate for the Packers’ open defensive coordinator job. LaFleur and Leonhard were reported to have mutual interest in a pairing, but the Packers went with Jonathan Gannon before getting an opportunity to formally interview Leonhard.
The job in Buffalo will be Leonhard’s first as a defensive coordinator in the NFL. He spent six seasons as the defensive coordinator at Wisconsin, where he starred as a collegiate player before going on to play 10 seasons in the NFL.
The hiring processes in the NFL are so often interconnected.
The Packers lost Jeff Hafley, opening up the defensive coordinator job, which eventually went to Gannon despite interest in Leonhard. Ansley wasn’t retained, allowing him to join Parker (another Packers candidate) in Dallas, and Gannon replaced him as pass game coordinator with Babich, who didn’t return as defensive coordinator in Buffalo. With that job open, the Bills hired Leonhard.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers lose assistant to Cowboys, Bills hiring Jim Leonhard as DC
Reporting by Zach Kruse, Packers Wire / Packers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
