Kurt Kristoffer Anderson (born August 8, 1978) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach and former player. He is currently the offensive line coach with the

Northwestern Wildcats The Northwestern Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Northwestern University, located in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern is a founding member of the Big Ten Conference and the only private university in the conference. Northwestern ...

where he has coached two first round draft picks in

Rashawn Slater Rashawn Slater (born March 26, 1999) is an American football offensive tackle for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Northwestern and was drafted by the Chargers in the first round of ...

, number thirteen overall in 2021 to the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

and

Peter Skoronski Peter Skoronski (born July 31, 2001) is an American football offensive tackle for the Northwestern Wildcats. He is the grandson of Bob Skoronski, who won five NFL championships as a tackle for the Green Bay Packers. Career Skoronski attended ...

number eleven overall in 2023 to the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

. He is the former offensive line coach at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

where he coached

Frank Ragnow Frank Ragnow (born May 17, 1996) is an American football center for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Arkansas, and was selected by the Lions in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Hig ...

the number twenty overall pick in 2018 to the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

. Anderson played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. After his playing career, Anderson became a professional football coach. He served as the assistant offensive line coach for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). In the 2015 season, Anderson took over head offensive line coaching duties for training camp and the first six weeks of the regular season for the suspended

Aaron Kromer Aaron Kromer (born April 30, 1967) is an American football coach who is the offensive line coach for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). Kromer served as the interim head coach of the New Orleans Saints for the first six ga ...

High school

Anderson attended

Glenbrook South High School Glenbrook South High School, or GBS, is a public four-year high school located in Glenview, Illinois, a north suburb of Chicago, in the United States. It is part of Northfield Township High School District, which also includes Glenbrook North Hig ...

Glenview, Illinois Glenview is an incorporated village located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, approximately 15 miles northwest of the Chicago Loop. Per the 2020 census, the population was 48,705. The current Village President is Michael Jenny. Geography ...

. He was a 1996

Parade All-American ''Parade'' was an American nationwide Sunday magazine, Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 700 newspapers in the United States until 2022. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., ''Parade'' had a circulation of 32 million and a ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

. He earned a full scholarship to

College career

Anderson was a two-year letterman on the offensive line (2000–2001) for the Wolverines and was the starting

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

. He received the Hugh R. Rader Jr. Memorial Award as the team's top offensive lineman and was selected All-

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

by the conference coaches following the 2001 season. He was a member of the

1997 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1997 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1997 Big Ten Conference football season. In its third year under head coach Lloyd Carr, Michigan compiled a perfect 12–0 record, won the Big Ten Conferen ...

that won the

1998 Rose Bowl The 1998 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game, part of the 1997–98 college bowl season, played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The 84th Rose Bowl Game, it featured top-ranked Michigan beating Washington State 21� ...

, as well as a share of the 1997 national championship. He also played in the 1999 Citrus Bowl, the

2000 Orange Bowl The 2000 FedEx Orange Bowl game was a post-season college football bowl game between the Michigan Wolverines and the Alabama Crimson Tide on January 1, 2000, at Pro Player Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Michigan defeated Alabama 35–34 in ...

, the

2001 Florida Citrus Bowl The 2001 Florida Citrus Bowl was a college football bowl game held on January 1, 2001 at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. The Michigan Wolverines, co-champions of the Big Ten Conference, defeated the Auburn Tigers, champions of the So ...

, and the 2002 Florida Citrus Bowls. He signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

with the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

of the

in 2002.

Coaching career

In 2005, Anderson was an assistant coach at

Indiana State Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...

where he worked with the offensive tackles and tight ends. In 2006, Anderson was a defensive quality control coach at The University of Michigan. Anderson spent the 2007 season as a graduate assistant coach for the offensive line. Anderson joined the

Eastern Michigan Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...

staff on April 2, 2008 as tight ends coach before shifting to the offensive line and run game coordinator in 2009. In 2010, Eastern Michigan finished with 2,080 yards rushing. The Eagles' ground attack was extremely effective during the 2011 campaign, Eastern Michigan rushed for 2,620 yards and 16 touchdowns on 575 carries for the 14th-best ground attack in the nation. A record two-year combined total of 4,700 yards for Eastern Michigan. On January 28, 2013, Anderson joined the

staff as an offensive quality control coach. On January 26, 2015, it was announced that Anderson was retained and promoted to assistant offensive line coach, by newly named head coach

Rex Ryan Rex Ashley Ryan (born December 13, 1962) is an American former football coach and analyst. Ryan was formerly the head coach of the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL), and also held various coaching position ...

. In 2015, Anderson coached the Buffalo Bills offensive line that paved the way to 2,432 yards rushing, 152 yards rushing per game, 4.8 yards per attempt, and 19 rushing touchdowns; all marks were best in the NFL on the season. On January 9, 2016 Anderson was introduced as the offensive line coach at the

by head coach

Bret Bielema Bret Arnold Bielema (; born January 13, 1970) is currently the head American football coach at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Bielema served as the head football coach at of the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 2006 to 2012 ...

. Anderson developed Frank Ragnow, All-American and 20th Overall draft pick in the 2017 NFL draft. Ragnow is the highest paid center in the NFL. Others NFL lineman developed at Arkansas, are Hjalte Froholdt and Dan Skipper. In 2018, Anderson joined the Northwestern University Wildcats, winning the Big Ten West Championship in 2018 and 2020. He developed current Los Angeles Chargers Offensive Tackle Rashawn Slater, 2020 13th overall draft pick. Slater was a Pro Bowl performer as well as All- Pro in his rookie season.

Family

Anderson is married with five children, wife Jennifer and sons Hawken and Torin,daughter Dagny and twins Odin and Raina. His grandfather, Bob Nowaskey, played for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

of the NFL and the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...

and

Los Angeles Dons The Los Angeles Dons were an American football team in the newly formed football league the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) from 1946 to 1949, and played their home games in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Dons were the first profes ...

of the

All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the ...

(AAFC). His father, Donald Anderson, played college football at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

and in the NFL with the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

. Kurt's older brother,

Erick Anderson Erick Scott Anderson (born October 7, 1968) is a former American football player. Anderson played college football as a linebacker at the University of Michigan from 1988 to 1991. As a senior in 1991, he won the Butkus Award as the best collegiat ...

, is a fellow Michigan alumnus who won the

Butkus Award The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985 by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, is given annually to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football. The award, named in honor of College Football Hall of Fame ...

in 1991 playing linebacker for the Wolverines and played in the NFL with the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

and the

Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

. Another older brother, Lars, played football at

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana University and, with ...

References

External links

Arkansas Razorbacks bio

Buffalo Bills bio

Eastern Michigan Eagles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Kurt 1978 births Living people American football offensive linemen Arkansas Razorbacks football coaches Buffalo Bills coaches Eastern Michigan Eagles football coaches Indiana State Sycamores football coaches Michigan Wolverines football coaches Michigan Wolverines football players People from Glenview, Illinois Players of American football from Evanston, Illinois