Lions Fire Six Coaches Including STs Coordinator John Bonamego

The Detroit Lions announced Tuesday that they’ve fired six coaches including special teams coordinator John Bonamego.

The other coaches let go include: Al Golden, Rodney Hill, Harold Nash, Brian Stewart and Chris White.

Here’s the statement from Lions HC Matt Patricia: 

“Today, our organization parted ways with John Bonamego, Al Golden, Rodney Hill, Harold Nash, Brian Stewart and Chris White. These decisions are never easy and I’m thankful for the effort these men gave our team. I will continue to evaluate our entire operation in the coming days and weeks and will always make decisions in the best interest of the team. I wish these coaches the best in their future endeavors.”

Bonamego, 56, began his coaching career at Maine as an assistant back in 1988. From there, Bonamego coached at Lehigh and Army before taking his first NFL job with the Jaguars as their assistant special teams coach in 1999.

Bonamego has coached for a number of NFL teams including the Packers, Saints, Dolphins and Lions. He spent four years as the head coach of Central Michigan before being hired by the Lions last January as their special teams coordinator. 

Football Outsiders have the Lions’ special teams unit ranked No. 8 overall in 2019.

During his time as head coach at Central Michigan, Bonamego led the school to a record of 22-29 (43.1 percent) and three bowl games.