With Black Sunday for coaches just a couple of days away, yet another FBS school has gotten a head start on firing season.
In a move a little more surprising than the other changes over the last month or so, Central Michigan announced Friday night that John Bonamego will not return as the Chippewas head coach in 2019. The move came just hours after CMU fell to Toledo 51-13 in the MAC school’s regular-season finale.
Bonamego, a CMU alum who beat cancer early on his tenure, just completed his fourth season with the football program.
“Making a leadership change is a difficult decision, especially when you know that coach has given his all to CMU,” athletic director Michael Alford said in a statement. “After conducting a 360-degree evaluation of the program, it was clear that a change is needed if we are going to compete for and win championships. We greatly appreciate all that John has done for his alma mater and wish him the best moving forward.”
The Chippewas finished 1-11 in what turned out to be Bonamego’s final season in Mount Pleasant. The record marks the worst in the program’s history, surpassing two-wins seasons in 1997 and 2000.
Prior to this season, the Chips had qualified for three straight bowls under Bonamego, only the second coach in program history -- Butch Jones was the first from 2007-09 -- to lead the school to three consecutive postseason appearances. In that span, CMU went 21-18; Bonamego finishes with a 22-29 record during his tenure.
Counting this latest one, nine FBS jobs have come open this season and eight remain vacant: Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Charlotte, Colorado, Louisville, Maryland, Texas State and UMass. The Kansas job had been open prior to Les Miles taking over the Jayhawks this past weekend.