Jim Leonhard is building something familiar - and potentially formidable - in Buffalo.
As he assembles his defensive coaching staff with the Bills, Leonhard is leaning heavily on familiar ties from his Wisconsin roots. His latest move?
Hiring Bobby April III, a former outside linebackers coach during the Paul Chryst era at Wisconsin, to take on the same role in Buffalo. April had most recently been with the Minnesota Golden Gophers, but Leonhard managed to lure him away - a savvy pickup that adds another layer of continuity to his vision.
Now, Leonhard has his sights set on another name with deep Wisconsin ties: Jay Valai.
Valai, who played defensive back for the Badgers from 2006 to 2010 and served as a team captain his senior year, is being targeted for the Bills’ defensive backs coach position, according to reports. While he never coached at Wisconsin, Valai’s connection to the program runs deep - and Leonhard clearly sees value in that shared DNA.
Valai has carved out an impressive coaching resume since his playing days ended. After his NFL aspirations as a player didn’t pan out, he jumped into coaching in 2017 as a defensive quality control coach at Georgia. That stint opened doors - including a stop with the Kansas City Chiefs in the same role, where he worked under Andy Reid and got a taste of the NFL coaching grind.
But Valai’s real breakthrough came in 2019 when he landed his first positional role as cornerbacks coach at Rutgers. From there, his trajectory took off. He coached defensive backs at Texas in 2020, then joined Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama in 2021 - a stamp of approval that tends to carry serious weight in the coaching world.
Most recently, Valai has been with Oklahoma as the co-defensive coordinator and assistant head coach for defense. Under his guidance, the Sooners finished sixth nationally in total defense this past season - a major leap for a program that had struggled on that side of the ball in recent years. That kind of turnaround doesn’t go unnoticed, and it's no surprise Valai has drawn interest from multiple NFL teams and even Notre Dame.
Now, Leonhard is looking to bring him to Buffalo, adding another piece to what’s quickly becoming a Badger-infused brain trust. Though Leonhard and Valai never overlapped in Madison - Leonhard graduated just before Valai arrived - the connection is still strong. It’s a shared foundation, a similar mindset, and a mutual understanding of how defense should be played.
Leonhard’s approach in Buffalo is clear: build a staff that not only knows the game but knows how he wants it played. By surrounding himself with coaches who share his background and his defensive philosophy, he’s laying the groundwork for a unit that could make serious noise in the AFC.
If Valai does join the Bills, it’ll be another step in a coaching rise that’s been steady, calculated, and earned. And for Leonhard, it’s another trusted voice in the room as he begins his next chapter in the NFL - one that’s looking more and more like an extension of the culture he helped build back in Wisconsin.