Jonathan David Hoke (born January 24, 1957) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

coach who is the Passing game coordinator and cornerbacks coach for the Chicago Bears of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He previously served as the defensive coordinator at the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

from 2019 to 2020 and also served as the defensive backs coach for the Atlanta Falcons,

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

and Houston Texans.

Playing career

Hoke played high school football at

Fairmont East High School Fairmont can refer to: Places Canada * Fairmont Hot Springs, British Columbia, a resort town ** Fairmont Mountain, a summit near Fairmont Hot Springs United States *Fairmont, Illinois * Fairmont, Minnesota * Fairmont, Missouri *Fairmont, Ne ...

in Kettering, Ohio. He then attended Ball State University, where he played defensive back on the football team. Hoke was a two-time all-

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great L ...

(MAC) selection and his team earned league titles in 1976 and 1978. Hoke spent time in the NFL as a player with the Chicago Bears and

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...

from 1980 to 1981.

Coaching career

College

Hoke embarked on a coaching career in 1982. As a secondary coach, he served at the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the nation and the second-largest private university in Ohio. The univ ...

, North Carolina State University, and

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research facilities in the ...

. Hoke was hired by head coach

Denny Stolz Dennis Earl Stolz (born September 12, 1934) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Alma College (1965–1970), Michigan State University (1973–1975), Bowling Green State University (1977–1985), and San ...

at Bowling Green and then him when Stolz was hired at

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

. After Stolz's dismissal at San Diego State, Hoke went

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in ...

, the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...

, and the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. Hoke served as defensive coordinator for Kent State in 1993 and Florida from 1999 to 2001. At Florida, Hoke replaced friend Bob Stoops, who had left to become the head coach at Oklahoma. Hoke and Stoops had served on the same Kent State staff in 1989 under Dick Crum, and Stoops recommended Hoke as his successor. Hoke left Florida when Gators head coach Steve Spurrier took the head coaching job with the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

of the

(NFL). When Spurrier returned to college football to coach

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

in 2004, he asked Hoke to join him as defensive coordinator. After deliberating with his family, Hoke declined Spurrier's offer. On Wednesday, February 4, 2015, Hoke re-joined Spurrier, this time at South Carolina. In 2019, Hoke was hired as the defensive coordinator at the

under head coach

Mike Locksley Michael Anthony Locksley (born December 25, 1969) is an American football coach. Locksley is currently the head coach at the Maryland Terrapins football, University of Maryland. After serving as an assistant coach for several college football ...

. Hoke was a

Broyles Award The Broyles Award is an annual award given to honor the best assistant coach in college football. First awarded in 1996, it was named after former University of Arkansas men's athletic director Frank Broyles. The award is presented in Little R ...

nominee in 2020 for best assistant coach in college football.

National Football League

Houston Texans

Hoke joined the

expansion Expansion may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''L'Expansion'', a French monthly business magazine * ''Expansion'' (album), by American jazz pianist Dave Burrell, released in 2004 * ''Expansions'' (McCoy Tyner album), 1970 * ''Expansio ...

Houston Texans of the NFL in 2002 as secondary coach under

Dom Capers Ernest Dominic Capers (born August 7, 1950) is an American football coach who is a senior defensive assistant for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the inaugural head coach of the Carolina Panthers and ...

, and was retained by new head coach

Gary Kubiak Gary Wayne Kubiak (born August 15, 1961) is a former American football coach and quarterback. He served as head coach for the NFL's Houston Texans from 2006 to 2013 and the Denver Broncos from 2015 to 2016 before stepping down from the position ...

in 2005.

Chicago Bears

Hoke joined the Chicago Bears as defensive backs coach under head coach

Lovie Smith Lovie Lee Smith (born May 8, 1958) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). From 2004 to 2016, he served as the head coach of the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a ...

in 2009, taking over for

Steven Wilks Steven Bernard Wilks (born August 8, 1969) is an American football coach and former player who is the interim head coach for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the head coach for the Arizona Ca ...

. In 2012, the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

asked the Bears for permission to interview Hoke for their vacant defensive coordinator position, but were denied. Hoke was one of two Smith assistants to be retained by new Bears head coach

Marc Trestman Marc Marlyn Trestman (born January 15, 1956) is an American football and Canadian football coach. He led the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL) to back-to-back Grey Cup victories in 2009 and 2010, and another as head coac ...

for the 2013 season. On January 21, 2015, the Bears announced that

Ed Donatell Ed Donatell (born February 4, 1957 in Akron, Ohio) is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). Donatell has 42 years of coaching experience, including 31 seasons ...

had been hired as the defensive backs coach under new head coach John Fox. Hoke was informed by the Bears that his contract would not be optioned and he would not be asked to return.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On January 16, 2016, Hoke was hired as the defensive backs coach for the

Atlanta Falcons

On January 26, 2021, Hoke was hired by the Atlanta Falcons as their defensive backs coach under head coach Arthur Smith. He was fired on January 27, 2023.

Chicago Bears (second stint)

On February 1, 2023, the Chicago Bears announced that Hoke was hired as their new cornerbacks coach and passing game coordinator.

Personal life

Hoke is the older brother of

Brady Hoke Brady Patrick Hoke (; born November 3, 1958) is an American football coach in his second stint as the head coach at San Diego State University. He was previously the head coach at the University of Michigan from 2011 to 2014. Hoke grew up in O ...

, who was previously the head football coach at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

until December 2, 2014. Hoke and his wife, Jody, have four children: Mallory, Kyle, and twins Kendall and Carly. Kyle Hoke played college football for his uncle Brady at Ball State and served as a

graduate assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research respo ...

coach for

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrary region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Most narrowly it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Pen ...

, Army and

. Kyle is currently the safeties coach at

since 2020 after previously serving as the defensive coordinator at

John Carroll John Carroll may refer to: People Academia and science *Sir John Carroll (astronomer) (1899–1974), British astronomer *John Alexander Carroll (died 2000), American history professor *John Bissell Carroll (1916–2003), American cognitive sci ...

References

External links

Chicago Bears profile

Maryland profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoke, Jon 1957 births Living people American football defensive backs Atlanta Falcons coaches Ball State Cardinals football players Bowling Green Falcons football coaches Chicago Bears coaches Chicago Bears players Florida Gators football coaches Houston Texans coaches Kent State Golden Flashes football coaches Maryland Terrapins football coaches Missouri Tigers football coaches NC State Wolfpack football coaches San Diego State Aztecs football coaches Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches Sportspeople from Hamilton, Ohio People from Kettering, Ohio Coaches of American football from Ohio Players of American football from Ohio