What Teams Has John Bonamego Coached So Far?
John Bonamego coach works with the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League as a senior assistant (NFL). He’s coached at the collegiate and professional levels for more than two decades.
Over the period of his coaching career, he has coached 6 NFL teams. He coached Jacksonville Jaguars, Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints, Miami Dolphins, Detroit Lions, and currently with Los Angeles Rams.
John Bonamego Career History As A Coach
At Mount Pleasant High School in Michigan in 1987, Bonamego served as a player coach for the Verona Redskins in Europe.
From 1988 to 1991, Bonamego worked as a college assistant coach at Maine, before moving on to Lehigh and Army, where he coached from 1993 to 1998.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Initially joining the NFL in 1999, Bonamego served as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ assistant special teams coach during that year. He was the team’s special teams coordinator for his final year in 2002 after three seasons in the role.
For the 2011 season, the Jaguars had four kicks blocked and were ranked 2nd in the league for kickoff cover. Another member of the Pro Bowl team is Chris Hanson, the punter.
Bonamego was hired by the Jacksonville Jaguars as special teams coordinator on January 20th, 2012.
Green Bay Packers
For three seasons in 2003, Bonamego served as special teams coordinator for the Green Bay Packers under Mike Sherman. In 2004, the squad had the most game-winning field goals since the 1970 merger, with four.
For the first time in NFL history, the Packers had the longest punt return for a touchdown (85 yards vs. Chicago), blocked two PATs and a field goal, and were sixth in the NFC in punt return average for that season.
New Orleans Saints
For the 2006 and 2007 seasons, Sean Payton used Bonamego as the New Orleans Saints special teams coordinator. Steve Gleason blocked a punt in the first game at the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina, and Bonamego is famous for calling for it. The Dallas Morning News’ annual special teams rankings put New Orleans in a tie for 10th place in the NFL in 2006.
Miami Dolphins
Tony Sparano, the Dolphins’ first-year head coach, took over from Keith Armstrong as special teams coordinator after two seasons in New Orleans. Sparano was the tight ends coach for the Jaguars in 2002, and Bonamego was the defensive line coach. After two or more seasons, Bonamego remained in charge
Central Michigan Chippewas
Bonamego was named as the 28th football head coach in Central Michigan University history on February 9, 2015. Bonamego is the first alumnus to lead Central Michigan since Bill Kelly, who led the team from 1951 until 1966.
Since serving as an assistant coach with Army from 1993 to 1998, this is Bonamego’s first head coaching job and his first collegiate coaching job. Bonamego agreed to a five-year deal earning $350,000 per year, plus $125,000 for radio and television appearances.
Central Michigan fired Bonamego on November 23, 2018, after the club had its worst season in team history.
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions hired Bonamego as their special team’s coordinator for the 2013 and 2014 seasons. “Bono Gear” was given to special-teams players who stood out.
After every Lions victory, he also awarded traveling trophies to the special-teams player who had the most blocks, tackles, or was the first man down to cover kickoffs in a given category.
The Detroit Lions announced on January 22, 2019, that they had re-hired Bonamego as their special team’s coordinator following his resignation following the 2014 season.
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams announced on February 10, 2020 that they had signed Bonamego as their special teams coach after he was released by the Detroit Lions on December 31, 2019. On February 23, 2021, he was promoted to the position of senior coaching assistant.
