 Kugler in 2014 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born: | (1966-08-09)August 9, 1966 (age 58) Lockport, New York, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| College: | UTEP |
| Career history | |
As a coach: | |
| |
Sean Patrick Kugler (born August 9, 1966) is anAmerican football coach who recently served as theoffensive line coach for theDC Defenders of theUnited Football League (UFL). He previously served as thehead coach at theUniversity of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) from 2013 to 2017. Kugler was an assistant coach in the NFL for theDetroit Lions (2001–2005),Buffalo Bills (2007–2009),Pittsburgh Steelers (2010–2012), andDenver Broncos (2018).
Kugler was born and raised inLockport, New York[1] where his father, Robert, was the assistant fire chief. He has two brothers and two sisters.[2]
Kugler attended theUniversity of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) from 1984 to 1988, earningletterman honors infootball for all four years. The 1988 team played in theIndependence Bowl.[3] His position coach at UTEP wasAndy Reid, who would later become head coach of the NFL'sPhiladelphia Eagles andKansas City Chiefs.[4]
Kugler signed with thePittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 1989,[2] but after sustaining aconcussion in training camp, he was released.[5] In 1991, he was drafted by theSacramento Surge of theWorld League of American Football (WLAF).[6] He started atguard for one season with the Surge.[2]
Kugler began his coaching career as a graduate assistant coach for Florida high schoolsTampa Bay Vo-Tech andGaither HS while completing his degree in education at theUniversity of South Florida (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).[7]
Kugler got his first professional coaching experience in 2001 as a tight end coach with theDetroit Lions of theNFL. He later worked his way into a role as offensive line coach in 2004.[7]
There's absolutely no question that he's the best football coach I've ever been around.
In 2006, Kugler moved toBoise State, assuming a role as assistant head coach and offensive line coach. The2006 Boise State Broncos football team was the only undefeated team in college football that year, winning theWAC title and beatingOklahoma in the2007 Fiesta Bowl. They boasted the sixth-ranked rushing performance in the nation behind Kugler's offensive line led by sophomoreRyan Clady and junior Jeff Cavender, who earned All-WAC honors.
Kugler joined theBuffalo Bills in 2007 as assistant offensive line coach.[2] He was promoted to offensive line coach the following year.[9] He quickly improved the Bills' line and mentored tackleJason Peters to two consecutivePro Bowl selections. Kugler’s units blocked for three consecutive 1,000-yard rushers:Marshawn Lynch (2007-08) andFred Jackson (2009).[10] The Bills' offensive line surrendered only 26 sacks in 2007, and they maintained the same lineup for 15 consecutive games.[9][11]
He joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2010, replacing offensive line coach,Larry Zierlein.[12] He had previously replaced Zierlein as assistant line coach for the Bills in 2007.[2] In his first season as a coach with the Steelers, the team made it to theSuper Bowl despite season-ending injuries to both startingoffensive tackles and a rookie startingcenter.[13] CenterMaurkice Pouncey made his first three Pro Bowls under Kugler from 2010-12.
On December 10, 2012, UTEP named Kugler as the new head coach, replacing the retiredMike Price.[14][15] 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.[16] Kugler coached two All-Americans—running backAaron Jones and guardWill Hernandez—while at UTEP. He resigned during the 2017 season after an 0-5 start.[17]
Kugler was hired by the Denver Broncos on January 2, 2018 to be the offensive line (guards/center) coach.[18]
On January 13, 2019, Kugler was hired by theArizona Cardinals to be their offensive line coach.[19]
On November 20, 2022, Kugler was fired by the Cardinals after Mexican authorities informed the team he had groped a woman while inMexico City for the team's game against theSan Francisco 49ers.[20] Kugler hired a law firm to investigate the allegations and filed a request for arbitration with the NFL.[21]
On May 5, 2024, it was revealed the Kugler was hired as theoffensive line coach for theDC Defenders of theUnited Football League (UFL).[22]
Kugler has three children: sons Robert and Patrick and daughter Kali, and a stepson, Javi, with wife.[7] Robert and Patrick played onhigh school football 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 thePennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, and played college football for thePurdue University Boilermakers from 2011 to 2014, including two seasons as their starting center.[3][13][23] His younger son, Patrick, played college football for theUniversity of Michigan Wolverines from 2014 to 2017, including one season as their starting center.[24]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UTEP Miners(Conference USA)(2013–2017) | |||||||||
| 2013 | UTEP | 2–10 | 1–7 | 7th(West) | |||||
| 2014 | UTEP | 7–6 | 5–3 | T–2nd(West) | LNew Mexico | ||||
| 2015 | UTEP | 5–7 | 3–5 | T–4th(West) | |||||
| 2016 | UTEP | 4–8 | 2–6 | T–5th(West) | |||||
| 2017 | UTEP | 0–5 | 0–1 | (West) | |||||
| UTEP: | 18–36 | 11–22 | |||||||
| Total: | 18–36 | ||||||||
