Denis Richard McDonough (born December 2, 1969) was the 26th White House Chief of Staff, succeeding Jack Lew at the start of President Barack Obama's second term.McDonough was born on December 2, 1969, in Stillwater, Minnesota. He is one of eleven children of Kathleen Marie (O'Mahony) and William Joseph McDonough. He was raised in a devout Catholic family.McDonough attended Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota, where he played safety on the Johnnies football team for Hall of Fame coach John Gagliardi. McDonough was a member of teams that won two conference titles in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. McDonough graduated from Saint John's University with a B.A. summa cum laude in history and Spanish in 1992. After graduation, McDonough traveled extensively throughout Latin America and taught high school in Belize. Wikipedia