The pros and cons of Bonamego hire
Central Michigan University’s newest head football coach John Bonamego hasn’t announced his staff or his offensive and defensive scheme, but we do know a few things about the CMU alum.
We won’t truly know about Bonamego’s head coaching skills until the fall, but there are a few positives and negatives on his incoming resume.
Here are the pros and cons of Bonamego:
Cons:
He’s a special teams guy
Often head coaches come from being an offensive or defensive coordinator, but Bonamego’s history revolves around special teams.
Bonamego’s been working with special teams since 1999. He responded to this criticism at Monday’s press conference.
“As a special teams coordinator, other than the head coach, I’m the only one that meets with the entire team every single game,” Bonamego said.
While he did meet with a large number of players and was involved with game management situations, it’s still concerning that Bonamego hasn’t led an offense or a defense at a high level program.
He hasn’t been a head coach since 1987
Bonamego hasn’t been the head coach of a football team since he led the Mount Pleasant High School Junior Varsity team to an 8-1 record in 1987.
It will be relatively new territory for him, although he was quick to point out that many past CMU head coaches didn’t have head coaching experience when they arrived either, including Dan Enos and Butch Jones.
“Other than Coach Kelly, I don’t think any of the coaches we’ve had here had previous head coaching experience at the college level,” Bonamego said. “Everybody’s got to have a first some time. When they start spitting them out already as head coaches, then I guess I won’t have a chance.”
He hasn’t coached a college team since 1998
To add to the potential culture shock, Bonamego’s been out of the college scene since he left Army in 1998.
After being a coach at Maine, Lehigh and Army from 1988-1998, Bonamego’s been working in the NFL. While it’s a positive he’s been working at football’s top level, the college game has its differences.
It’s the third time he’s applied for this job
While Bonamego admitted it’s not the first time he sought out the CMU job, he said he is much more equipped for the position than he was before.
“This is really my third time,” Bonamego said. “Third time’s a charm, I guess. Through all of it, each time I learned something. Maybe I was ready in my mind earlier, but this time around I feel like I’m really prepared.”
Pros:
He has a sense of humor
One of the first things Bonamego displayed in Monday’s press conference was his approachableness and personal touch.
His first comments at the podium were jokes about his height and his baldness.
“They walked me in this room a little earlier and the sun was coming through those windows pretty bright,” Bonamego said. “And I was really worried about blinding everybody with this head.”
When addressing his recruiting skills, Bonamego won over another laugh.
“As I told the players yesterday, if anybody has any questions on whether or not I can recruit, just take a look at (my wife) Paulette,” Bonamego said. “I mean really, look at her and look at me.”
Humor is not a requirement to win football games, but having a coach who can laugh and connect with people has to be beneficial.
He has a heart for Central Michigan
There’s a lot you can debate about Bonamego, but his passion for this university is not on that list. Bonamego made it apparent Monday that this is his dream job.
“I told (the players) that the only place that I would willingly leave the National Football League for, the only job that I’ve ever wanted is this one,” Bonamego said. “It’s about the opportunity to chase a dream and accomplish a career-long ambition. This is where I want to be.”
Bonamego was a walk-on at CMU as a quarterback and wide receiver in 1982 and has expressed his love for the university since graduation. Even Detroit Lions coach Jim Caldwell and Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh said they could see Bonamego’s Chippewa pride when working with him in the NFL.
Dan Enos said he was excited not to have to shovel snow anymore when he made to the move to Arkansas. It’s a different story for Bonamego.
“We might not be the biggest,” Bonamego said. “We might not be the baddest. But damn it, we’ll fight you. It’s hard for me to articulate how passionate I am about this place. I love it. I love everything about it. I love that snow. I love the rainy days. I can’t wait to see the stadium full, when they get those keys out and the offense is on the field. I want to jump up there and help lead the band.”
He’s a Central Michigan man
Bonamego isn’t going anywhere.
It’s the perfect match with an athletic department yearning to keep a coach from leaping at the first opportunity to get out of town and a die-hard Chippewa.
“For me, this is not, never will be, never has been a job,” Bonamego said. “For me, this is the job. This is a place that, when I left, it never left me. It’s been a part of who I am.”
His contract rewards him for staying, as he gets incentive every extra year he stays and both sides have large penalties for a potential buy-out, as high as $1,000,000 if the buy-out occurs before the end of 2016.
The fact that Brady Hoke was a Michigan man didn’t help him become a better coach, but at least Wolverine fans knew he was completely committed to the program. The same can be said for Bonamego.
It’s not a rebuilding process
Usually a new head coach means a long rebuilding process, but Bonamego said otherwise about CMU.
“I plan to win, win now and be here for a very, very, very, very, very long time,” Bonamego said. “I think there’s a really, really good, strong foundation here. This program is in good shape. It’s in a position where we will expect to win and win now.”
Even without wide receiver Titus Davis and running back Thomas Rawls, the team still has a leader in quarterback Cooper Rush and a strong defense. Don’t expect Bonamego to tear the team apart to rebuild.
He wants to interact with the community
Many Chippewa football fans said they were insulted by Dan Enos’ comments about how the fans didn’t know anything and lived outside Mount Pleasant in Midland. Bonamego has already begun embracing the community, even saying he might show up in some classes to support faculty.
“We want you to be able to reach out and touch us,” Bonamego said. “We need your support. We need you, we love you, we want you around, we want you to feel like you’re a part of this because you are.”
Bonamego said he wants students and community members to approach him and said “If you’re a Chippewa, I’m your coach.”
If anything’s for certain, Bonamego is no Dan Enos. Whether that’s a good thing or not is one of the questions that remain.
