John Frank Bonamego (born August 14, 1963) 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 serves as a senior coaching assistant for the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC Wes ...

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 majo ...

(NFL). He has two decades of

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

and pro coaching experience. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

Central Michigan Central Michigan, also called Mid Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As its name implies, it is the middle area of the Lower Peninsula. Lower Michigan is said to resemble a mitten, and Mid Michigan cor ...

and also was head coach of the team from 2015 to 2018. Bonamego has also coached for

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...

, Lehigh and

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

at the college level. He has been an assistant for the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the t ...

and

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

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'. On August 21, Bonamego announced that he had completed his radiation treatment 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 ...

Cancer Center in Ann Arbor.

Early years

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 –including military bases in Italy and Ethiopia– before he turned 18.

Playing career

Bonamego played wide receiver and

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Am ...

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Established in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute, the private normal school became a state institution and renamed Ce ...

. 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 A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

with the

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

Redskins.

College

Bonamego served as a college assistant for 11 years, coaching for

from 1988 to 1991, Lehigh in 1992 and

from 1993 to 1998.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Bonamego first joined the NFL in 1999 as an assistant special teams coach for the

. 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 The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

. On January 20, 2012, Bonamego was hired as special teams coordinator of the

Green Bay Packers

In 2003, Bonamego joined the

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, the most by the team since the 1970 merger. In 2005, 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

In 2006, Bonamego was hired by

Sean Payton Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán ( anglicized as '' Shaun/Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; angli ...

as special teams coordinator for the

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. New Orleans finished 2006 tied for 10th in the NFL in the annual special teams rankings formulated by

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...

. 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.

Miami Dolphins

After two seasons in New Orleans, replaced special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

and first-year head coach

Tony Sparano Anthony Joseph Sparano III (October 7, 1961 – July 22, 2018) was an American football coach. He served as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins and Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) and is the only NFL head coach to have ...

. Bonamego and Sparano had previously coached together with the Jaguars from in 2002 when Sparano was

tight ends The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

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 was 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 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.

Detroit Lions

Bonamego spent two seasons – 2013 and 2014 with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

as the special teams coordinator. He awarded "Bono Gear" to players who stood out on special teams. 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.

Los Angeles Rams

After his release after one season with the Detroit Lions on December 31, 2019, the

announced on February 10, 2020, that they have hired Bonamego as their special teams coach. He was shifted to senior coaching assistant on February 23, 2021. Bonamego won his first Super Bowl when the Rams defeated the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...

Super Bowl LVI Super Bowl LVI was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2021 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Los Angeles Rams defeated the American Football Conference ...

. After coaching 16 years in the NFL and 19 years at college programs, Bonamego announced his retirement on February 17, 2023.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonamego, John 1963 births Living people American football quarterbacks American football wide receivers Army Black Knights football coaches Central Michigan Chippewas football coaches Central Michigan Chippewas football players Detroit Lions coaches Green Bay Packers coaches Iowa State Cyclones football coaches Jacksonville Jaguars coaches Lehigh Mountain Hawks football coaches Los Angeles Rams coaches Maine Black Bears football coaches Miami Dolphins coaches New Orleans Saints coaches High school football coaches in Michigan People from Paw Paw, Michigan People from Waynesboro, Pennsylvania Coaches of American football from Michigan Players of American football from Michigan