He is called John Steven by his family. His father is John Wilson Pont, and his grandfather, John Pont, had no middle name.
He didn’t need one.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a weight,” the youngest Pont said. “It’s a blessing because of who my grandpa was.”
His grandfather was one of the men whose career helped create the Miami Cradle of Coaches.
John Pont, who passed away in 2008, rushed for 977 yards with an average of 7.6 yards per carry for Miami in 1949 and averaged nearly 10 wins in his seven years as head coach on the Oxford campus.
He also went on to coach at Yale, Indiana, Northwestern, Hamilton High School, Mount St. Joseph and the semi-pros in Japan. He was named national coach of the year in 1967 after taking Indiana to its first and only Rose Bowl. The Hooisers lost to the O.J. Simpson-led USC Trojans, 14-7.
“Everybody remembers him as being a great man and everybody has positive feelings about that name,” his grandson said. “That means a lot to me. It’s never seemed to be a burden as much as a motivation to grow up to be the type of man he was.”
‘A no-brainer for me’
The youngest John Pont, who graduated from Miami in 2007, carries that motivation into his current responsibilities.
“I break down film, help the assistant coaches with anything they need, help keep the players on track in school and on the field,” Pont said. “I’m just an extra set of eyes, ears and hands for the coaching staff.
“Coaching’s always been a dream of mine, especially coaching at Miami,” he said. “Obviously through family connections, Miami has deep roots for me. It’s a special place, and when this opportunity came it was a no-brainer for me.”
Pont coached receivers at North Alabama under Terry Bowden, who later became his father-in-law. Last season Pont was a graduate assistant at Colorado State.
Legends everywhere
Pont, who grew up in Connecticut, always seemed to be around coaching legends.
“I remember going to Yale football games,” he said. “My uncle, Rich Pont, my grandpa’s brother, was a coach there for 30-plus years. So I grew up seeing Carmen Cozza, who was a very close friend of my grandpa.”
Cozza, former Yale head coach, also is a member of Miami’s Cradle. The elder Pont was best man at his wedding.
“I followed Yale as well as Miami,” Pont said. “Through that experience I always knew I wanted to be a coach.”
Pont was a quarterback, fullback and linebacker in high school who went to Ohio Wesleyan to play football and lacrosse, but soon transferred to Miami, where he played lacrosse only.
But the influence of football on his life remained strong.
“I lived with him and grandma (Sandy) for the first two years I was in school here,” he said.
“One day I was getting out of the shower when I heard voices downstairs that weren’t my grandpa’s,” Pont remembered.
“I was a little interested, so I went downstairs and sitting in the living room were my grandpa and Ara Parseghian and his wife,” Pont said.
Parseghian, like his grandfather, is a former Miami player and coach who went on to become national coach of the year. Many consider Parseghian second only to Knute Rockne among Notre Dame’s coaching greats.
A twisting path
“I knew I wanted to coach,” Pont said. “My grandpa helped me get an internship at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend (Ind.). While I was there I met my wife (Tera), as well as her grandfather, Bobby Bowden, and to make a long story short he offered me a position on his staff (as an intern at Florida State).”
The last year or so has been more than a little hectic for Pont and his wife, Tera, who were married about 15 months ago.
“I’d already taken a job at the University of North Texas,” he said. “The day after we got back from our honeymoon I heard from a friend at Colorado State (about an opening). The day we moved to Texas I was told, hey, the job (at Colorado State) is yours if you want it.”
After a year at Colorado State, Pont said, “things that were promised to me sort of fell through, so we moved to West Virginia, where my wife’s parents lived. This spring I went to North Alabama and coach Bowden was willing to take me back.
“I came up here for the Miami camp, really just to visit my grandma and to have a day on campus where I could be around Miami football,” he said. “I didn’t even know a position was open.
“Coach (Don) Treadwell called coach Bowden and asked permission to talk to me, and the next thing I know I’m moving back up here.”
He is trying to find a job for Tera so she can move to Oxford. For the time being he is staying with his grandmother.
“I don’t personally believe in chance,” Pont said. “I believe everything happens for a reason. I’ve been around some amazing coaches and I’ve had some amazing opportunities.”
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