Why Kenderrick Bonner is stepping down as Johnson’s football coach

In 2018, Kenderrick Bonner took over a Johnson football team that had won one game over the previous three seasons.

The former Burke County standout, who went on to coach at his alma mater before taking the Atom Smasher job, went to work immediately and turned the program around. He led Johnson to back-to-back playoff berths in 2020 and 2021 and the Atom Smashers were in the hunt again this season until the final game of the year.

Bonner told the Savannah Morning News on Sunday that he has stepped down as the head coach at Johnson.

“It’s been a phenomenal job and I’ve enjoyed the last five years at Johnson,” said Bonner, 33. “I told my principal, Mr. (Derrick) Dozier-Muhammad and our athletic director, Mr. (Brandon) Lindsey, that I couldn’t have worked for a better administration. They allowed me to work, to lead and to serve the best way I saw fit — and they never micromanaged me.”

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Bonner posted a record of 18-31 in his five seasons at the helm as he built a program that earned respect throughout the Coastal Empire. His players appreciate the dedication he showed to the team.

Senior Jaden Boone, a standout two-way lineman who earned All-Greater Savannah first-team honors this season, said Bonner taught him a lot about football and life.

Kenderrick Bonner of Johnson has stepped down as the Atom Smasher football coach.

“He had coached my older brother (Dylan Boone, now playing at Presbyterian) so we already had a relationship when I came in as a freshman. I was a little scared as a 9th grader getting the chance to start against seniors — but Coach Bonner had us in the weight room, doing sprints and working out on the field to get better. He helped me build my confidence — he instilled in me that I could become part of the foundation of our program.”

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The team steadily improved under Bonner after a 2-8 start in his first season. After making the playoffs the first time in seven years in 2020, the Atom Smashers did it again in 2021 as they beat Jenkins for the first time since 2011 and Windsor Forest for the first time since 2002 along the way.

Bonner said he does not have a job lined up, and will miss working at Johnson — but it was not difficult for him to step away.

Johnson High School head football coach Kenderrick Bonner on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021 at Memorial Stadium after a 38-0 victory over Beach High School.

“It wasn’t hard to step down because I know we did almost everything we set out to accomplish,” Bonner said. “We reached the playoffs for two years in a row and won five games in each of the last two seasons to gain the respect of the fans, coaches and teams in Savannah — and we sent a lot of players on to play college football. I think we’ll have four or five more signing this year. That was really important to me to have guys going on to get a college education through football.

“I’m a man of faith and will allow God to lead me to my next destination,” he said. “I walk by faith, not by sight.”

Bonner said one goal that he didn’t reach was beating a private school team from Savannah, although the Atom Smashers came really close this year in a 14-6 loss to Savannah Christian and in 2019 in a 21-20 setback against Savannah Country Day.

“I’ll miss my players, but they know I poured everything I had into them and that I love them,” said Bonner, who coached the Coastal Empire squad to a win over the Low Country in the Blitz Border Bowl last week. “We always tried to do things the right way.”

Johnson coach Kenderrick Bonner works with his team at a recent practice.

Boone, one of more than 20 seniors on the team this year, said Bonner had an impact with his players on, and off the field.

“Coach was always emphasizing doing well in school and getting good grades,” Boone said. “If someone was failing a class, the whole team would have to do bear crawls and extra sprints. Coach was always intense, but never degraded his players. We knew he loved and respected us as people, and that built the love love and respect we have for him.”

Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Johnson football coach Kenderrick Bonner announces he is stepping down