Football
- Title:
- Assistant Head Coach/Tight Ends
- Email:
- leonarfr@bc.edu
- Phone:
- 552-3010
• Frank Leonard enters his 36th year coaching, including his 33rd at the collegiate level. The 2019 season will be his seventh year at BC and fourth as the assistant head coach. He is also the tight ends coach for the Eagles.
• Leonard has been instrumental to a program that achieved five bowl appearances in six years. Helped guide the Eagles to the 2013 AdvoCare v100 Independence Bowl and the 2014 New Era Pinstripe Bowl on the heels of a 2-10 campaign in 2012; the five-win improvement from 2012 to 2013 tied for fourth-best in the FBS.
• With the 36-30 Quick Lane Bowl victory over Maryland in 2016, it was Boston College’s first bowl win since 2007.
• Has cultivated perhaps the deepest position group on the team and helped mentor Tommy Sweeney into the first All-ACC tight end at BC since 2008. Sweeney was named the ACC's top tight end earning a spot on the All-ACC first-team in 2018 after finishing second on the team in receptions (32) and third in receiving yards (348). The John Mackey semifinalist was an All-ACC third-team selection in 2017.
• Sweeney was a seventh-round pick of the Buffalo Bills in the 2019 NFL Draft after coming to BC with just one FBS offer coming out of high school.
• Helped develop Sweeney into one of the ACC’s top tight ends in 2016.
• In his second season at The Heights in 2014, coached the tight end group that helped produce a rushing attack average 254.7 per game, second in the Atlantic Coast Conference and 14th among all teams in college football.
• In 2014, he mentored a group of tight ends essential to an Eagle offensive unit that averaged 212.5 rushing yards per game, a mark good for second in the ACC and 20th in the nation; the average was a 121.5-yard spike from the previous season’s average, marking the largest one-year improvement in ACC history.
• Developed and led an Eagle tight end corps that produced three of the team’s top-six receptions leaders in 2013 – Jake Sinkovec, Mike Naples and C.J. Parsons; all three players eclipsed career highs in receptions, receiving yards and touchdown receptions.
• Spent the 2012 season as tight ends coach at Temple under Steve Addazio; was a teammate of Addazio’s at Central Connecticut State and the two coached together under Paul Pasqualoni at Western Connecticut State.
• Prior to Temple, spent three seasons (2009-11) as the tight ends coach for the St. Louis Rams under Steve Spagnuolo; the group played a key role in the Rams’ offensive success in 2010. Daniel Fells finished fourth on the team in receptions as he set a new career-high with 41 catches. Billy Bajema also set a career best as he hauled in 14 passes while continuing to play a key role in the running game.
• Prior to making his coaching debut in the National Football League, he served as tight ends coach at Kansas State University for two years 2007-08.
• Spent three seasons (2004-06) as a special assignment scout for the New England Patriots.
• Enjoyed a 10-year tenure at the University of Richmond, where he coached the offensive line (1994, 1997-2003), running backs (1995-96) and served as the school's recruiting coordinator (2003).
• In 1998, the Spiders posted a 9-3 record and earned their first Atlantic 10 title, a berth in the NCAA I-AA playoffs, and a No. 5 final national ranking. The Spiders earned a second Atlantic 10 title and a No. 6 national ranking in 2000 after posting a 10-3 record, rushing for a school-record 3,669 yards and reaching the quarterfinals of the NCAA I-AA playoffs.
• Has extensive coaching experience in the state of Connecticut; coached at the University of Connecticut (1990-93), Western Connecticut (1982-84, 1987-90), and Central Connecticut State (1985-86).
Coaching Career
1981: Wethersfield High School, Assistant Coach
1982-84: Western Connecticut, Defensive Line
1985-86: Central Connecticut State, Defensive Line
1987-90: Western Connecticut, Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line
1990-93: Connecticut, Outside Linebackers
1994: Richmond, Offensive Line
1995-96: Richmond, Running Backs
1997-02: Richmond, Offensive Line
2003: Richmond, Offensive Line/Recruiting Coordinator
2004-06: New England Patriots, Scout
2007-08: Kansas State, Tight Ends
2009-11: St. Louis Rams, Tight Ends
2012: Temple, Tight Ends
2013-15: Boston College, Tight Ends
2016-present: Boston College, Assistant Head Coach/Tight Ends
Bowls Coached
2013: Boston College, Independence
2014: Boston College, Pinstripe
2016: Boston College, Quick Lane
2017: Boston College, Pinstripe
2018: Boston College, First Responder
Playing Experience
1976-80: Central Connecticut State, Defensive Back
Personal
Hometown: Wethersfield, Conn.
High School: Wethersfield
College: Central Connecticut State (B.A. – Physical Education, 1981)
Central Connecticut State (M.A. – Education & Administration, 1983)
Wife: Kathy
Children: Maria, Sarah
