Big Lead Sports Bar

1/13/2010

STEELERS HIRE SEAN KUGLER AS O-LINE COACH

Jason La Canfora of NFL.com is reporting that the Steelers have hired Sean Kugler to replace the recently-dismissed Larry Zierlein as their offensive line coach.

Kugler was a four-year letter winner at UTEP from 1984-88 and returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach from 1993-2000. He spent 2001-2005 on the Detroit Lions coaching staff, working with both the offensive line and tight ends. In 2006, he served as the assistant head coach/offensive line coach for Boise State, the same Boise State team that beat Oklahoma 43-42 in the Fiesta Bowl.

He joined the Bills and Dick Jauron's staff in 2007 as the assistant offensive line coach, promoted to offensive line coach in 2008. In Buffalo, he worked with LT Jason Peters, a two-time Pro Bowl selection in 2007 and 2008 who was traded to the Eagles before the 2009 campaign. Kugler and the rest of the Bills staff were relieved of their duties following a 6-10 season that even Terrell Owens couldn't save.

In 2009, the Bills' line allowed 46 sacks, which placed them 28th in the league. For the record, the Steelers ranked 31st with 50 sacks allowed. So technically, this is an upgrade. But the Bills' QBs were hit 103 times, which was worse than only one other team - Jacksonville, with 125. In this category, the Steelers ranked 17th with 77 hits on the QB allowed.

The Bills did rank 8th in the league with a 4.4 yards per carry average in 2009, where the Steelers ranked 17th at 4.2 YPC. So far, that's the only stat where I can see somewhat of a difference in Kugler's favor. But I have no real insight into his philosophy or style, so I'm not going to rush to judgment in calling this a good or bad hire. I can't say I've broken down much tape of the Bills' O-line in my free time. This move will have to fall under the category of "wait and see", at least for me.

Steelers hire Bills’ Kugler to coach O-line [NFL.com]

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2 comments:

Unknown said...

Bills had a different starting line in nearly every game this year. They signed Kendall Simmons off the street and he started the same week. IMO He's a tremendous coach and the 2008 season is a better reflection of his abilities.

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