Mark D'Onofrio

Last updated

Mark D'Onofrio
Mark D'Onofrio 2012.jpg
D'Onofrio with the Miami Hurricanes
Current position
Title Linebackers coach
TeamUCF Knights
Conference Big 12
Biographical details
Born (1969-03-17) March 17, 1969 (age 56)
Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S.
Playing career
1988–1991 Penn State
1992–1993 [1] Green Bay Packers
Position(s) Linebacker
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1999 Saint Peter's (LB)
2000 Georgia (DA)
2001 Rutgers (LB)
2002–2003Rutgers (LB/RC)
2004 Virginia (ST/TE)
2005Virginia (ST/ILB)
2006–2007 Temple (DC)
2008–2009Temple (AHC/DC)
2010Temple (AHC/DC/LB)
2011–2015 Miami (FL) (AHC/DC)
2017–2018 Houston (DC/LB)
2022 Wisconsin (ILB)
2023–2024 Stanford (ILB)
2025–present UCF (LB)
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
As a player

Mark Emil D'Onofrio (born March 17, 1969) is an American college football coach and former professional player. He is currently the linebackers coach for UCF. D'Onofrio played collegiately as a linebacker at Pennsylvania State University and thereafter was drafted by the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). [2]

Contents

Playing career

D'Onofrio played at the collegiate level with the Penn State Nittany Lions, where he was a team captain. In the 1992 NFL draft, D'Onofrio was selected in the second round by the Green Bay Packers with the 34th overall pick. [3] He became a starter with the team that season, however a severe injury would cause him to retire soon after.

Coaching career

D'Onofrio's first coaching experience was as linebackers coach at Saint Peter's College. The next year, he became a defensive assistant with the Georgia Bulldogs. From there he was a linebackers coach with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and tight ends, special teams, and inside linebackers coach with the Virginia Cavaliers. D'Onofrio joined head coach Al Golden at Temple in 2006 as their defensive coordinator, later being promoted to the Assistant Head Coach/ Defensive Coordinator.

At Temple, he turned around a defense that was the worst in the NCAA the season before he was hired, elevating it to the 17th-ranked defense. He helped the Owls to their first conference division title and secured bowl eligibility for consecutive seasons, a program first. The 2009 season marked Temple's first winning record since 1990 and throughout their Big East era.

He followed head coach Al Golden to the University of Miami in the same position he held at Temple for the Miami Hurricanes football team in December 2010. Al Golden came to Coral Gables to replace Randy Shannon. After Golden was fired in the wake of a 58-0 loss to Clemson, D'Onofrio finished out the 2015 season as defensive coordinator and was then let go following Miami's SunBowl loss to Washington State, 20-16. [4] On January 6, 2017, D'Onofrio was hired by the Houston Cougars as their defensive coordinator, beginning with the 2017 season. In 2018, Houston claimed the AAC West Division title. However, head coach Major Applewhite was fired later that year. D'Onofrio was also dismissed following the 2018 Bowl game loss to Army. [5]

In early June 2022, it was reported that D'Onofrio would be hired by Paul Chryst and the Wisconsin Badgers as the inside linebackers coach. [6]

His defenses at Miami ranked third in the ACC in turnovers (25) in 2015 and fourth in total defense in 2014, while at Stanford, he improved the run defense from 126th nationally (224.4 yards per game) in 2022 to 40th (132.9 yards per game) in 2024. [7]

Pro development

As a defensive coordinator at Temple, Miami, and Houston, D’Onofrio developed over 25 NFL draft picks, including 10+ picks in the first three rounds, such as Heath Miller (1st round, 2005, x2 Pro Bowls), Muhammad Wilkerson (1st round, 2011, Pro Bowler), David Njoku (1st round, 2017, Pro Bowler), Artie Burns (1st round, 2016), Ed Oliver (1st round, 2019), Payton Turner (1st round, 2021), Jaiquawn Jarrett (2nd round, 2011), Denzel Perryman (2nd round, 2015, Pro Bowler), Logan Hall (2nd round, 2022), Ahmad Brooks (3rd round, 2006, x2 All-Pros), Sean Spence (3rd round, 2012), Terrance Knighton (3rd round, 2009), Olivier Vernon (3rd round, 2012), Allen Bailey (3rd round, 2011), Alvin Pearman (4th round, 2005), Colin McCarthy (4th round, 2011), Isaiah Johnson (4th round, 2019), Deon Bush (4th round, 2016), Rayshawn Jenkins (4th round, 2017), Brandon McGee (5th round, 2013), Corn Elder (5th round, 2017), Anthony Chickillo (6th round, 2015), Al-Quadin Muhammad (6th round, 2017), Emeke Egbule (6th round, 2019), Matthew Adams (7th round, 2018), Grant Stuard (7th round, 2021), Derek Parish (7th round, 2023). Additional players he coached during his career who reached the NFL include: Gary Brackett, Andre Neblett, Adrian Robinson, Dominique Harris, Marcus Forston, Ray-Ray Armstrong, LaDarius Gunter, Jamal Carter, Jimmy Gaines, D'Juan Hines, Alexander Myres, David Anenih, Nick Thurman, Maema Njongmeta, Jordan Turner. [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

References

  1. "Mark D'Onofrio". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  2. UH, Major Applewhite fill out coaching staff by Joseph Duarte. Houston Chronicle, January 6, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  3. "1992 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  4. Berkes, Peter (December 26, 2015). "Wazzu beats Miami in extremely snowy Sun Bowl". SBNation.com. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  5. Khan, Sam (December 30, 2018). "Houston Cougars fire Major Applewhite after 2 seasons". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
  6. Bartholomew, Colten (June 6, 2022). "Wisconsin football adding Mark D'Onofrio to coaching staff, report says". lancasteronline.com. LNP Media Group, LLC. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  7. "Mark D'Onofrio - Football Coach". Stanford University Athletics. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
  8. "Mark D'Onofrio - Football Coach". Stanford University Athletics. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
  9. "Mark D'Onofrio - Football Coach". University of Houston Athletics. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
  10. "Mark D'Onofrio - Football Coach". Wisconsin Badgers Athletics. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
  11. "Mark D'Onofrio". Temple Owls Athletics. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
  12. "2025 UDFA Tracker: Undrafted free agent signings for all 32 NFL teams". PFF. Retrieved August 11, 2025.