Leon Burtnett (born May 30, 1943) is an assistant football coach at the University of Houston and was the head football coach at Purdue University from 1982 to 1986. Burtnett was honored as Big Ten Coach of the Year 1984 when he led the Boilermakers to the Peach Bowl. Burtnett has been an assistant coach for several schools, including Washington State University, San Jose State University, Michigan State University, Montana State University, Fresno State University, Colorado State University, Northeast Louisiana University, and Arkansas State University. In addition, Burtnett was an assistant under Ron Meyer with the Indianapolis Colts of the NFL.