Darrelle Revis says he’s ready for a sideline job, and he has a very specific place in mind: Buffalo, alongside Jim Leonhard.
The former Jets star, now a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback, made it clear he’s serious about coaching when he spoke by phone from Canton, Ohio during Hall of Fame induction weekend. Revis said his admiration for Leonhard goes back to their days together in New York, and he didn’t hesitate when asked whether he’d want to work with him again.
“I’m not joking at all,” Revis said by phone from Canton, Ohio. “I’ve always loved the game, and I’ve always loved playing with Jim.”
Revis even floated the idea of joining Leonhard’s staff if the opportunity comes up in Buffalo, where Leonhard is the Bills’ new defensive coordinator. He called Leonhard a future head coach and said, “Tell him if he needs a secondary coach to give me a call. Maybe this is my interview where I tell Jim that if he ever needs help, to keep me at the top of the list.”
Leonhard got word of the offer Saturday night and reacted with a grin, pulling out a practice call sheet and writing down Revis’ phone number.
The Bills’ staff under coach Joe Brady already includes three coordinators and 21 assistants, among them secondary coach Joe Danna, who worked with Revis with the Jets in 2015 and 2016, and cornerbacks coach Jay Valai. NFL staffs, of course, can keep growing.
For Revis, the interest in coaching comes at a point where football is tugging at him again. He said retirement has kept him busy with commercial real estate and venture capital investments, but life has also changed in another big way: he’s an empty nester now. His daughter is a junior nursing student at the University of Kentucky, and his son is a freshman business major and defensive back at Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pa., about 85 miles from Highmark Stadium.
That family connection only adds to the Buffalo angle, but Revis’ admiration for Leonhard is really the heart of it. The two first teamed up in 2009, when the Jets hired Rex Ryan as head coach and Leonhard arrived after a season with the Baltimore Ravens. Revis saw a player whose credibility was already established on a fierce defense that included Ed Reed and Ray Lewis.
“You have a guy like Ray Lewis at linebacker, and the way that he demands the same type of approach to the game from everybody,” Revis said. “That’s what Jim did for us.
“When you replay your career and remember those flashbacks in the huddle and just going to war with your teammates, you always knew Jim had your back.”
That first year together was a huge one for both men. The Jets led the league in fewest points allowed, fewest yards per play, fewest yards per pass attempt and fourth-fewest rushing yards per carry. Opposing quarterbacks managed just a 58.8 passer rating, with eight touchdown passes, 17 interceptions and 32 sacks against them.
Leonhard started all 16 games and finished with one interception, five pass breakups, 2 1/2 sacks, nine tackles for loss and a forced fumble. Revis put together one of the defining seasons of his career, earning his first All-Pro nod and finishing runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year after posting a career-high six interceptions and an NFL-record 31 pass breakups.
In the postseason, New York made the first of its back-to-back AFC Championship Game appearances. Leonhard came up with an interception, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery across three road games, while Revis intercepted two passes.
Revis said what stood out most about Leonhard was the way he thought the game.
“I really loved playing with him,” Revis said. “His intellect, his football IQ, the way he communicated, he was just very tuned in and detailed.”
That, in Revis’ view, is exactly why Leonhard will succeed as a coordinator and eventually as a head coach. And if the path takes him to Buffalo, Revis would be willing to follow.
“I understand the coaching life and how guys have to relocate and move certain places,” Revis said, “but the kids are out of the house. I have time and opportunity to do other things.”
He said he splits time between South Florida and New York, and when asked whether he’d be open to the grind of an assistant coach’s life in suburban Buffalo, he didn’t blink.
“I wouldn’t mind,” Revis said with a laugh. “They have a new stadium, and it’s football, man. Wherever I need to be, I’ll go.”
Revis, from Aliquippa, Pa., was an All-American at Pitt, and his football resume is hard to match. He is a four-time All-Pro, a member of the 2010 All-Decade Team and a Super Bowl champion. He also has no coaching background beyond working with his son, Jayden Revis, who will play defensive back at Mercyhurst and was also a receiver and kick returner at Moon Area High in the Pittsburgh area.
When the trade-off between coaching experience and that playing pedigree was pointed out, Revis answered with a deadpan response.
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