The Dallas Cowboys brought in one of their own when they hired Chris Boniol leading up to the 2010 season to help kicker David Buehler in his fulltime role as the club's place kicker. Boniol first came to Dallas in 1994 as the club's placekicker. In 2011, Boniol will continue his work with Dallas' kickers while also assisting Joe DeCamillis with the team's special teams units.
In his first season as a pro coach, Boniol's mentorship of Buehler saw the second-year player finish 2010 converting 24-of-32 (75.0%) field goals and 42-of-44 PAT tries while also forcing 22 touchbacks. Buehler's .750 field goal percentage ranked sixth in Cowboys franchise history among Cowboy rookie or first-time kickers. Overall, his 114 points tied for fourth among the same group while his 22 touchbacks were the third-most in a season in franchise history.
Boniol enjoyed a six-year pro career, playing for three different NFL teams. From 1994-96 Boniol converted 118-of-121 PATs and 81-of-93 (87.1%) of his field goals while helping the Cowboys to a Super Bowl XXX Championship. Boniol then played two seasons (1997-98) for Philadelphia and one (1999) with Chicago. Boniol enjoyed his finest season as a pro in 1995 as Dallas captured the Super Bowl XXX title. On the year, Boniol drilled 27-of-28 (96.4%) field goal attempts and 46-of-48 PATs to finish with 127 points – tying the fourth-most points in a season by a Cowboy. Boniol finished his pro career 128-of-163 (78.5%) on field goals and 183-of-189 on PATs for 567 total points.
Following his professional football career, Boniol returned to school and finished up his degree in general studies at Louisiana State University in 2001. In 2002, he began teaching high school math and coaching football in Lewisville, Texas. After two years, Boniol became a private football coach for high school and collegiate student-athletes. Boniol returned to teaching part time in 2008 where he remained until earning a spot on the Cowboys coaching staff leading up to the 2010 NFL season.
Boniol finished his collegiate career at Louisiana Tech third on the school's all-time scoring list. He attended Alexandria, La., High School and was the school's kicker while also playing catcher for the school's baseball team. Boniol and his wife, Christine, have two sons, Gaige and Garin.
