Sean Patrick Kugler (born August 9, 1966) 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
run game coordinator and
offensive line coach
In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, assistant coach, and the offensive and defensive coordinators.
Common ...
for 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
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). He previously served as the
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
at the
University of Texas at El Paso
The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stud ...
(UTEP) from 2013 to 2017. Kugler was an assistant coach in the NFL for 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 ...
(2001–2005),
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. ...
(2007–2009),
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
(2010–2012), and
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...
(2018).
Early years
Kugler was born and raised in
Lockport, New York
Lockport is both a city and the Lockport (town), New York, town that surrounds it in Niagara County, New York, Niagara County, New York (state), New York. The city is the Niagara county seat, with a population of 21,165 according to 2010 census ...
where his father, Robert, was the assistant fire chief. He has two brothers and two sisters.
Playing career
Kugler attended the
University of Texas at El Paso
The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stud ...
(UTEP) from 1984 to 1988, earning
letterman
Letterman may refer to:
* Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States
People
* David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host
** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...
honors in
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
for all four years. The 1988 team played in the
Independence Bowl
The Independence Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that is played annually each December at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Independence Bowl ...
.
His position coach at UTEP was
Andy Reid
Andrew Walter Reid (born March 19, 1958) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Reid was previously head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999 to 2012. From 200 ...
, who would later become head coach of the NFL's
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
and
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 ...
.
Kugler signed with the
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
as an undrafted free agent in 1989,
but after sustaining a
concussion
A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration, ...
in training camp, he was released. In 1991, he was drafted by the
Sacramento Surge
The Sacramento Surge was a professional American football team that played in the World League of American Football (WLAF) in 1991 and 1992. The team played its first season at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, and the second season in Hornet Stad ...
of the
World League of American Football
NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...
(WLAF). He started at
guard
Guard or guards may refer to:
Professional occupations
* Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault
* Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street
* Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning
* Prison ...
for one season with the Surge.
Coaching career
Early years
Kugler began his coaching career as a graduate assistant coach for Florida high schools
Tampa Bay Vo-Tech and
Gaither HS while completing his degree in education at the
University of South Florida
The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is ...
(USF). After three years in Florida, he spent the next eight seasons (1993–2000) at UTEP, working his way from graduate assistant (1993), to tight ends coach in (1994), and finally to offensive line coach (1995–2000).
First NFL stint
Kugler got his first professional coaching experience in 2001 as a tight end coach with 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 ...
of the
NFL. He later worked his way into a role as offensive line coach in 2004.
Boise State
In 2006, Kugler moved to
Boise State, assuming a role as assistant head coach and offensive line coach. The
2006 Boise State Broncos football team was the only undefeated team in college football that year, winning the
WAC title and beating
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
in the
2007 Fiesta Bowl. They boasted the sixth-ranked rushing performance in the nation behind Kugler's offensive line led by sophomore
Ryan Clady
Ryan Jacob Clady (born September 6, 1986) is a former American football offensive tackle who played nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Boise State University, and earned consensus All-American h ...
and junior Jeff Cavender, who earned All-WAC honors.
Second NFL stint
Kugler joined 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 2007 as assistant offensive line coach.
He was promoted to offensive line coach the following year.
He quickly improved the Bills' line and mentored tackle
Jason Peters
Jason Raynard Peters (born January 22, 1982) is an American football offensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Arkansas and signed with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free ag ...
to two consecutive
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
selections. Kugler’s units blocked for three consecutive 1,000-yard rushers:
Marshawn Lynch
Marshawn Terrell Lynch (born April 22, 1986) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. Nicknamed "Beast Mode", he spent the majority of his career with the Seattle Seahawks. Lync ...
(2007-08) and
Fred Jackson (2009). The Bills' offensive line surrendered only 26 sacks in 2007, and they maintained the same lineup for 15 consecutive games.
[
He joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2010, replacing offensive line coach, ]Larry Zierlein
Larry Zierlein (born July 12, 1945) is a long-time American football coach at high school, college, and the National Football League (NFL).
Biography
Zierlein grew up in Lenora, Kansas. After spending two years in the Marines from 1966 to 1968, i ...
. He had previously replaced Zierlein as assistant line coach for the Bills in 2007. In his first season as a coach with the Steelers, the team made it to the Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
despite season-ending injuries to both starting offensive tackle
Offensive may refer to:
* Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative
* Offensive (military), an attack
* Offensive language
** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...
s and a rookie 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 ...
. Center Maurkice Pouncey
LaShawn Maurkice Pouncey (born July 24, 1989) is a former American football center who played 11 seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida, where he was a member of a BCS Na ...
made his first three Pro Bowls under Kugler from 2010-12.
UTEP
On December 10, 2012, UTEP named Kugler as the new head coach, replacing the retired Mike Price
Michael Bruce Price (born April 6, 1946) is a former American football coach. He was the head coach at Weber State College from 1981 to 1988, Washington State University from 1989 to 2002, and the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) from 2004 ...
. In addition to leading the Miners to the New Mexico Bowl in 2014, Kugler’s team achieved a perfect APR academic score of 1,000 and had the highest GPA and graduation rates in school history. Kugler coached two All-Americans—running back Aaron Jones and guard Will Hernandez
William "Will" Hernandez (born September 2, 1995) is an American football guard for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at UTEP.
College career
After redshirting his first year at UTEP in 201 ...
—while at UTEP. He resigned during the 2017 season after an 0-5 start.
Denver Broncos
Kugler was hired by the Denver Broncos on January 2, 2018 to be the offensive line (guards/center) coach.
Arizona Cardinals
On January 13, 2019, Kugler was hired by 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 ...
to be their offensive line coach.
On November 20, 2022, Kugler was fired by the Cardinals after Mexican authorities informed the team he had groped a woman while in Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
for the team's game against the San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
. Kugler hired a law firm to investigate the allegations and filed a request for arbitration with the NFL.
Personal life
Kugler has three children: sons Robert and Patrick and daughter Kali, and a stepson, Javi, with wife Monica. Robert and Patrick played on high school football
High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...
teams that won state championships two straight seasons — in 2009 in New York and 2010 in Pennsylvania. Robert was named the Class AAAA co-Player of the Year by the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association
The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, Inc., also known by its acronymn PIAA, is one of the governing bodies of high school and middle school athletics for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States.
The PIAA's main ...
, and played college football for the Purdue University Boilermakers from 2011 to 2014, including two seasons as their starting center. His younger son, Patrick, played college football for the University of Michigan Wolverines
The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...
from 2014 to 2017, including one season as their starting center.
Head coaching record
References
External links
Arizona Cardinals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kugler, Sean
1966 births
Living people
American football offensive guards
Arizona Cardinals coaches
Boise State Broncos football coaches
Buffalo Bills coaches
Detroit Lions coaches
Sacramento Surge players
Pittsburgh Steelers coaches
UTEP Miners football coaches
UTEP Miners football players
High school football coaches in Florida
People from Lockport, New York
Players of American football from New York (state)
Coaches of American football from New York (state)