Iowa State has hired former Central Michigan head coach and longtime NFL special teams coach John Bonamego. He will be a senior special teams analyst, according to his bio page on the Cyclones' website.
Bonamego has been in coaching since his 1987 graduation from Central Michigan, and is best known for his special teams work. He has coached and/or coordinated special teams efforts for six different NFL clubs, beginning with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1999 and most recently as a senior coaching assistant for the Super Bowl champion LA Rams this past season. He was the Rams' special teams coordinator in 2020.
Iowa State is one of the roughly half of Power 5 programs that does not designate an on-the-field special teams coordinator, so Bonamego will be expected to do the heavy lifting on the Cyclones' special teams schematics.
He spent 2015-18 as the head coach at Central Michigan, leading his alma mater to three bowl trips and a division championship in his four seasons in Mount Pleasant.
The 58-year-old Bonamego is also a cancer survivor.
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