Benado joins the Chanticleers after spending the 2025 season at Missouri State, where he led the Bears’ linebacker group. He previously spent four seasons at Southeast Missouri State, coaching inside linebackers and specialists and helping the Redhawks win two Ohio Valley Conference titles and make multiple FCS playoff appearances. While at SEMO, Benado coached inside linebacker Bryce Norman, the 2024 OVC–Big South Defensive Player of the Year, a consensus All-American, and a first-team All-OVC selection who led the team in tackles from 2021–24 and finished his career second in program history with 408 total tackles. He also coached first-team All-Big South–OVC punt returner Dalyn McDonald and All-American kicker DC Pippin.
Benado also served as a graduate assistant at Missouri State from 2019–20, working with defensive backs and special teams, and has coaching stops at William Jewell College and MidAmerica Nazarene University. A former MidAmerica Nazarene linebacker, he helped lead the Pioneers to a Heart of America Conference championship.
