Gopher Football Loses Assistant Before He Got Started
After the Minnesota Gophers knocked off New Mexico in the Rate Bowl , P.J. Fleck got to work on offseason preparations. He has been busy with transfer portal shuffling , and the coaching staff has experienced changes as well.
Among the new faces for Minnesota was Bobby April III coming in to lead the rush ends . That group is going to be talented with the full complement of starters returning , and T.J. Bush Jr. joining from Cal . Unfortunately for the Gophers talent, they’ll have a new voice to lead them before April even got started.
Bobby April III leaving the MN Gophers
Just over a month ago, the Minnesota Gophers hired Bobby April III to coach their rush ends. Presumably he has been working behind the scenes during that time. He’ll never see a gameday in Dinkytown though, because the NFL came calling.
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As Ian Rapoport (NFL.com) reports, Bobby April III has been hired to join the new Buffalo Bills coaching staff. Joe Brady took over for Sean McDermott after the Bills fired him following a second round playoff loss against the Denver Broncos .
Brady scooped up Denver assistant head coach Jim Leonhard to lead his defense, and then Leonhard got April to leave Minnesota. April had worked as the defensive coordinator at Stanford, but was taking a more focused role with the Gophers.
While not all edge rushers are outside linebackers, it’s a similar set of skills. April will now oversee that group in Buffalo, and he gets to take home an NFL paycheck. It’s unfortunate for the Minnesota Gophers, who now have to go backfill yet another coaching position.
Although Leonhard and April worked together at Wisconsin, April has familiarity with the Bills organization as well. He was the linebackers coach for the franchise in 2015-2016 under Rex Ryan. After two years off, he landed with Wisconsin in the role that crossed paths with Leonhard.
The 2026 schedule is out , and the Gophers know what they are up against. It will be on Fleck and his staff to ready the team and look to improve upon their 8-5 finish in 2025 .
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