Jonathan Goodwin

Jonathan Scott Goodwin, nicknamed "The Goat," is a former NFL center who now coaches for the Los Angeles Chargers. He played college football at Michigan after transferring from Ohio University, and the New York Jets picked him in the fifth round of the 2002 draft. Goodwin later became a key player for the New Orleans Saints, starting at center from 2008 to 2010 and helping the team win Super Bowl XLIV over the Indianapolis Colts. He earned his first Pro Bowl selection that season and followed it with a second straight Pro Bowl nod in 2010, when the Saints won their first 13 games.

In 2011, he signed with the San Francisco 49ers, starting all 16 games and making a third consecutive Pro Bowl. That postseason, the 49ers beat Goodwin’s former team, the Saints, in the divisional round before losing the NFC Championship to the Giants in overtime. Goodwin received the Bobb McKittrick Award, given annually to the 49ers offensive lineman who embodies the courage and sacrifice of the longtime coach. He made his fourth straight Pro Bowl in 2012 and helped the 49ers reach Super Bowl XLVII, where they lost to the Baltimore Ravens.

Goodwin started every game at center during his three seasons with San Francisco. He returned to the Saints in 2014 on a one-year deal, reclaiming the starting center role before an ankle sprain cut short a game against the Vikings. Born in Columbia, South Carolina, Goodwin attended Lower Richland High School, where he was an all-conference football selection. His older brother, Harold, serves as the run game coordinator and assistant head coach for the Carolina Panthers.