John Bonamego

John Bonamego
Central Michigan University
Position:	Head Coach
Personal information
Born:	August 14, 1963 (age 61); Waynesboro, Pennsylvania
Career information
College:	Central Michigan
Career history
	Maine (1988–1991); (Assistant coach); Lehigh (1992); (Assistant coach); Army (1993–1998); (Assistant coach); Jacksonville Jaguars (1999–2001); (Assistant special teams coach); Jacksonville Jaguars (2002); (Special teams coordinator); Green Bay Packers (2003–2005); (Special teams coordinator); New Orleans Saints (2006–2007); (Special teams coordinator); Miami Dolphins (2008–2010); (Special teams coordinator); New Orleans Saints (2011); (Assistant special teams coach); Jacksonville Jaguars (2012); (Special teams coordinator); Detroit Lions (2013–2014); (Special teams coordinator); Central Michigan Chippewas (2015–Present); (Head Coach);

John 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
Central Michigan Chippewas (Mid-American Conference) (2015–present)
2015	Central Michigan	7–6	6–2	T–1st (West)	L Quick Lane
Central Michigan:		7–6	6–2
Total:		7–6
^†Indicates Bowl Coalition, Bowl Alliance, BCS, or CFP / New Years' Six bowl.

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.

External links

Jacksonville Jaguars bio

[1] "CMU's Bonamego has 'very treatable' cancer". Detroit Free-Press. Retrieved June 18, 2015.

[2] "CMU's Bonamego finishes cancer radiation treatment". Detroit Free-Press. Retrieved August 21, 2015.

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