John Bonamego
| Central Michigan University | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Head coach |
| Personal information | |
| Date of birth: | August 14, 1963 |
| Place of birth: | Waynesboro, Pennsylvania |
| Career information | |
| College: | Central Michigan |
| Career history | |
| As coach: | |
| |
John Frank Bonamego (born August 14, 1963) is an American football head coach for Central Michigan University of the Mid-American Conference. He has two decades of college and pro coaching experience. He played college football at Central Michigan.
Bonamego has also coached for Maine, Lehigh and Army at the college level. He has been an assistant for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints in the NFL.
On June 18, 2015, Bonamego announced that he was diagnosed with tonsil cancer, but that the cancer was caught early enough and was "very treatable'.[1] On August 21, Bonamego announced that he had completed his radiation treatment at the University of Michigan Cancer Center in Ann Arbor.[2]
Early years
Bonamego graduated from Paw Paw High School in Paw Paw, Michigan.
Playing career
Bonamego played wide receiver and quarterback at Central Michigan University. He earned his degree in health and fitness in 1987.
Coaching career
Beginnings
In 1987, Bonamego coached at Mount Pleasant High School in Michigan and was a player-coach in Europe with the Verona Redskins.
College
Bonamego served as a college assistant for 11 years, coaching for Maine from 1988 to 1991, Lehigh in 1992 and Army from 1993 to 1998.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Bonamego first joined the NFL in 1999 as an assistant special teams coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He held the position for three seasons before serving his final year with the team as special teams coordinator in 2002. That season, the Jaguars blocked four kicks and were second in the league in kickoff coverage. Punter Chris Hanson was also selected to Pro Bowl.
On January 20, 2012, Bonamego was hired as special teams coordinator of the Jacksonville Jaguars
Green Bay Packers
In 2003, Bonamego joined the Green Bay Packers as the special teams coordinator and served in that capacity for three seasons under Mike Sherman.
New Orleans Saints
In 2006, Bonamego was hired by Sean Payton as special teams coordinator for the New Orleans Saints and held the job for two seasons.
Miami Dolphins
After two seasons in New Orleans, replaced special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong for the Miami Dolphins and first-year head coach Tony Sparano. Bonamego and Sparano had previously coached together with the Jaguars from in 2002 when Sparano was tight ends coach. Bonamego held the job for two plus seasons.
Central Michigan Chippewas
On February 9, 2015, Bonamego was introduced as the 28th football head coach in the history of Central Michigan University. Bonamego is the first alum to serve as Central Michigan's head coach since Bill Kelly from 1951-1966. This is Bonamego's first head coaching position and his first college coaching position since he served as an assistant for Army from 1993-1998. Bonamego signed a 5-year contract worth $350,000 annually with an additional $125,000 for radio and television appearances.
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Michigan Chippewas (Mid-American Conference) (2015–present) | |||||||||
| 2015 | Central Michigan | 7–6 | 6–2 | T–1st (West) | L Quick Lane | ||||
| 2016 | Central Michigan | 6–6 | 3–5 | 5th (West) | Miami Beach | ||||
| Central Michigan: | 13–12 | 9–7 | |||||||
| Total: | 13–12 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title | |||||||||
| #Rankings from final Coaches Poll. °Rankings from final AP Poll. | |||||||||
References
- ↑ "CMU's Bonamego has 'very treatable' cancer". Detroit Free-Press. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
- ↑ "CMU's Bonamego finishes cancer radiation treatment". Detroit Free-Press. Retrieved August 21, 2015.