John Donovan (American football)

John Donovan
Sport(s) Football
Biographical details
Born (1974-09-11) September 11, 1974
River Edge, New Jersey
Playing career
1993–1996 Johns Hopkins
Position(s) Defensive back
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1997 Villanova (DB)
1998–2000 Georgia Tech (GA)
2001–2004 Maryland (RC)
2005 Maryland (RB)
2006–2007 Maryland (QB)
2008–2010 Maryland (RB)
2011–2013 Vanderbilt (OC/RB)
2014–2015 Penn St. (OC/TE)

John Donovan (born September 11, 1974) is a professional football coach. Currently, he serves as an Offensive Quality Control Coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Coaching career

After playing for three years for the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays football team, Donovan worked as an intern for the Carolina Panthers.[1] Shortly after, he moved on to take an assistant secondary coaching spot for the Villanova Wildcats football team in 1997. That season, the Wildcats posted a 12–1 record and were ranked number one in Division I-AA.[1] He later moved on to finish earn his master's degree from Georgia Tech, while simultaneously serving as an assistant coach under head coach George O'Leary. He was temporarily promoted to coach the running backs in the 2000 Peach Bowl after Ralph Friedgen's departure to Maryland.[1][2] Between 2001 to 2004, he primarily served as a recruiting coordinator, under both O'Leary and Chan Gailey.

In 2005, Donovan was reunited with former offensive coordinator Ralph Friedgen, moving to the Terrapins football program to becoming the running backs coach.[3] He moved to the quarterback coach for the next two seasons, before being reassigned back to the running backs in 2008 amidst multiple coaching changes in the coaching staff.[4][5] Friedgen himself was later removed as head coach of the Terrapins in December 2010,[6] leaving many Maryland assistants to look for jobs elsewhere. With offensive coordinator James Franklin moving to take the head coaching position at Vanderbilt, Donovan was assigned with the play calling duties for the Military Bowl, Friedgen's final game as coach.[7] The Terrapins won the game 51–20, the most points ever scored by Maryland in a bowl game.[8]

On January 13, 2011, Donovan was named as offensive coordinator for the Vanderbilt Commodores football team, rejoining former Maryland offensive coordinator James Franklin.[9]

In January 2014, Donovan followed Franklin to Penn State as the offensive coordinator. [10]

Donovan came under heavy criticism from the Nittany Lion fan base for questionable play calling. However, a former graduate assistant who worked on the staff during the 2014 season claimed on twitter that the offense was largely designed by the "HFC" and PennLive.com's David Jones wrote an article headlined "John Donovan was scapegoat for rebuild that will take longer than fans can accept."[11] [12] In November 2015, he was fired from the Penn State program.[13]

On March 21, 2016 he was hired by the Jacksonville Jaguars to be Offensive Quality Control Coach.

Personal life

Donovan married his wife Stacey (née Spicer) in May 2005.[1] The couple has three children named Patrick, Cate, and Shea.[14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Player Bio: John Donovan". University of Maryland Athletics. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
  2. ↑ "Terps Tab Friedgen As Coach". Associated Press (CBS). 2000-11-29. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
  3. ↑ "Donovan Named Terps New Running Backs Coach". CSTV. 2005-01-27. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
  4. ↑ "Terps hire coaches". Associated Press (The Frederick News-Post). 2008-01-25. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
  5. ↑ Carig, Marc (2008-01-25). "Terrapins' Friedgen Makes Changes to Coaching Staff". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
  6. ↑ Prisbell, Eric and Steve Yanda (2010-12-19). "Ralph Friedgen out as Maryland football coach". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
  7. ↑ Orton, Kathy (2010-12-23). "Maryland's John Donovan will call plays at Military Bowl". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
  8. ↑ "Ralph Friedgen exits with win as Maryland romps in Military Bowl". Associated Press (ESPN). 2010-12-29. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
  9. ↑ Low, Chris (2011-01-13). "James Franklin unveils his offensive staff". ESPN. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
  10. ↑ John Moyer (January 17, 2014). "Closer look at Penn State's staff so far". www.go.espn.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  11. ↑ http://www.pennlive.com/pennstatefootball/index.ssf/2015/11/penn_state_football_john_donov.html
  12. ↑ http://onwardstate.com/2015/09/05/former-players-critical-of-playcalling-on-social-media/
  13. ↑ Jourdan Rodrigue (November 29, 2015). "Penn State Football Announces Firing of Offensive Coordinator Donovan". www.centredaily.com. Centre Daily Times. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Player Bio: John Donovan". Vanderbilt University Commodores Athletics. Retrieved 2011-01-31.

External links

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