John Bonamego
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John Bonamego
John Frank Bonamego (born August 14, 1963) is an
American football coach who serves as a senior coaching assistant for the
Los Angeles Rams of the
National Football League (NFL). He has two decades of
college and pro coaching experience. He played
college football at
Central Michigan and also was head coach of the team from 2015 to 2018.
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
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Bonamego graduated from
Paw Paw High School in
Paw Paw, Michigan. His father was an officer in the Army. He lived in eight zip codes
[3] āincluding military bases in Italy and Ethiopiaā before he turned 18.
Playing career
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Bonamego played
wide receiver and
quarterback at
Central Michigan University. He earned his degree in health and fitness in 1987.
Coaching career
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Beginnings
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In 1987, Bonamego coached at
Mount Pleasant High School in Michigan and was a
player-coach in
Europe with the
Verona Redskins.
College
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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
[
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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
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In 2003, Bonamego joined the
Green Bay Packers as the special teams coordinator and served in that capacity for three seasons under
Mike Sherman. The club had four game-winning field goals in 2004,
[4] the most by the team since the 1970 merger. In 2005,
[5] the Packers had the NFL's longest punt return for a touchdown (85 yards vs. Chicago), didn't allow a return touchdown, blocked two PATs and a field goal attempt and ranked fifth in the NFC in punt return average.
New Orleans Saints
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In 2006, Bonamego was hired by
Sean Payton as special teams coordinator for the
New Orleans Saints and held the job for two seasons. Bonamego is remembered for calling for what turned out to be a successful blocked punt by Steve Gleason in the first game at the Superdome after
Hurricane Katrina.
[6] New Orleans finished 2006 tied for 10th in the NFL in the annual special teams rankings formulated by
The Dallas Morning News.
[7] The Saints ranked sixth in the NFL in opponent punt return average (7.0) and fourth in the NFC in kickoff return average (23.0). New Orleans did not allow a kickoff return of more than 40 yards and the longest punt return the special teams surrendered was 31 yards. Bonamego returned to the Saints for the 2011 season as the assistant special teams coordinator.
[8]
Miami Dolphins
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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
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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 to 1966. This was Bonamego's first head coaching position and his first college coaching position since he served as an assistant for Army from 1993 to 1998. Bonamego signed a five-year contract worth $350,000 annually with an additional $125,000 for radio and television appearances.
On November 23, 2018, Bonamego was fired by Central Michigan after the team suffered the worst season in team history.
[9]
Detroit Lions
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Bonamego spent two seasons ā 2013 and 2014 with the
Detroit Lions as the special teams coordinator. He awarded "Bono Gear" to players who stood out on special teams.
[10] He also handed out traveling trophies after every Lions victory to the special-teams player who led in categories like blocks, tackles or being the first player down to cover kickoffs.
Following his departure after the 2014 season, the Detroit Lions announced on January 22, 2019, that they had re-hired Bonamego as their special teams coordinator.
[11]
Los Angeles Rams
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After his release after one season with the Detroit Lions on December 31, 2019,
[12] the
Los Angeles Rams announced on February 10, 2020, that they have hired Bonamego as their special teams coach.
[13] He was shifted to senior coaching assistant on February 23, 2021.
[14] Bonamego won his first Super Bowl when the Rams defeated the
Cincinnati Bengals in
Super Bowl LVI.
[15]
After coaching 19 years in the NFL and 19 years at college programs, Bonamego announced his retirement on February 17, 2023.
[16]
Head coaching record
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