Central Michigan University Athletics
Assistant Brings Strong Football Pedigree to CMU
1/13/2017 12:00:00 AM | Football
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - A man with strong Michigan ties and a solid football pedigree has joined the Central Michigan football staff.
Nick Sheridan, who played quarterback at Michigan from 2006-09, has been hired by coach John Bonamego as the Chippewas' running backs coach. Bonamego has worked closely over the year with Sheridan's father, Bill, who currently serves as the Detroit Lions linebackers coach.
"I've known Nick since he was a child," said Bonamego, who coached alongside Bill Sheridan with the Lions and at other stops, including Maine, Army and with the Miami Dolphins. "Nick's always been a student of the game, and I know he'll fit in with our culture."
Nick Sheridan, 28, was a walk-on quarterback at Michigan and earned a scholarship by his junior season. He played 12 games with the Wolverines, starting four. He broke into coaching as an assistant at his alma mater, Saline High School, and moved up to the collegiate ranks in 2011 at Western Kentucky, where he spent two seasons.
In 2013, he served as the quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator at South Florida before moving on to Tennessee where he spent the last three seasons as an offensive graduate assistant.
"I've known Coach Bonamego for many years," Sheridan said. "He and my dad have worked together at many stops, and I've always enjoyed our interactions. He and (wife) Paulette are wonderful people and certainly that was appealing to me, that I would work for a man, a great man, who I have a great deal of respect for.
"Central Michigan has a wonderful tradition of winning and a great tradition, particularly at the running back position. I'm excited to be a part of that."
Sheridan's Michigan roots run deep. He graduated from Saline, his wife, Sarah, is from the Lansing area, and his parents are native Detroiters. His brother Joe is an assistant football coach at Gabriel Richard High School in Ann Arbor; his brother Mark is a graduate assistant at Arkansas; and his sister, Natalie, is a student at Michigan State.
"I love Michigan, love the people, love everything about it," Sheridan said. "Michigan's definitely home.
"In my experience, I've been fortunate to have played for and worked under some excellent men and excellent coaches. My dad was my hero growing up and still is, and he has been a great example to me of what a coach is and should be. It's about truly caring for a person first and a football player second.
"That's what coaching is all about. Yeah, you want to produce a good product on the field, but more importantly we're there to mentor and lead and help the young men become better husbands, better fathers, better citizens."
