He later managed the Donegal county team for two spells between 1997 and 2000 and 2017 and 2022, winning two Ulster Senior Football Championship titles during the latter, while playing as goalkeeper for Na Rossa.
Bonner's first spell as manager of the county team, from 1997 until 2000, saw him denied an Ulster Senior Football Championship title by a last-minute Joe Brolly goal in the 1998 final.
[1] His father Dan Bonner was born on 20 September, the same date on which his son would win the 1992 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final.
[1] A week after leading Donegal to his first Ulster SFC as manager in 2018, Bonner kept a clean sheet while playing in goal in a league match for his club.
[1][13] Donegal had earlier won the 1983 Ulster Senior Football Championship, with Bonner still a minor and playing no part.
[16] He once played for Finn Harps against Cobh Ramblers on a Sunday at noon, then for Donegal against Longford in the National Football League on the same day in 1991.
[1] But, within five years of raising aloft the Sam Maguire Cup, Bonner was forced to retire from the (inter-county) game due to injury.
[20] He was seriously injured in the 1992–93 National Football League semi-final in which Donegal defeated Clare at Croke Park and spent several weeks in hospital.
[23] Bonner played in four Ulster SFC finals, recording two wins and two losses, an achievement he equalled as manager in 2020.
[17] To pass his period of exile he led Na Rossa to the 1989 Donegal Intermediate Football Championship title, while also playing for that club.
[26][27] He was called the day after Cavan won the 1997 Ulster Senior Football Championship final to ask about submitting his name for the role.
[1][20][28] He was informed of the decision to appoint him at 9.29 pm on 11 August 1997, after Anthony Molloy, past manager Conaghan and Pauric McShea all withdrew.
[29] Bonner led Donegal to the 1997–98 National Football League semi-final against eventual title winners Offaly and the 1998 Ulster SFC final against Derry — a last-minute Joe Brolly goal, accompanied by a few kisses to the crowd, put paid to that one.
[32] He managed his club Na Rossa to the 2008 Donegal Intermediate Football Championship final, but lost to Seán Mac Cumhaills by three points (he was not playing at the time).
[33][34] Bonner sought a joint managerial position with the senior footballers alongside Charlie Mulgrew in 2008, but both ultimately lost out to John Joe Doherty.
[37] When Jim McGuinness departed as county manager after the 2014 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, Bonner was linked with the managerial vacancy.
[6] However, he was critical of the Ulster Council for not allowing them sufficient time to prepare for the All-Ireland semi-final, which they lost to Dublin.
[40] On 22 September 2017, Bonner was reappointed manager of the senior team on a three-year term, succeeding Rory Gallagher.
[41] Shortly before the appointment, Bonner wrote in the Donegal News: "We were a top tier team, but we have dropped down over the last year or two, and I can't see that changing unless we start to have a serious look at our structures from Under 15 right up to seniors, and the way we conduct our business".
[29][43] However, it brought about a marked improvement in the team's fortunes and Bonner led his county to the 2018 and 2019 Ulster Senior Football Championship titles.
[9][10][11] Bonner was reappointed for another two-year term as Donegal manager at the end of August 2021 when no other candidates emerged to succeed him.
[45] Bonner managed Na Rossa to the 2023 Donegal Junior Football Championship title, with his two sons Cillian and Christian among the players involved.