The Patriots’ offensive coaching staff is losing a young assistant.
On Thursday, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced that they hired Robert Kugler as the team’s new tight ends coach. Kugler joins new head coach Mike McCarthy’s first Steelers staff.
This move is a promotion for Kugler, who spent the last two seasons as an assistant offensive line coach for the Patriots. He was hired in 2024 under then-head coach Jerod Mayo, working with offensive line coach Scott Peters and assistant Michael McCarthy.
When Mike Vrabel was hired last offseason, Kugler was one of three holdovers from Mayo’s staff to stay in New England, along with Ben McAdoo and Jeremy Springer.
This season, Kugler worked with offensive line coach Doug Marrone and assistant offensive line coach Jason Houghtaling.
This move brings Kugler home of sorts. His father, Sean Kugler, was the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive line coach from 2010 to 2012. Kugler played one season of high school football in Pennsylvania at North Allegheny before playing at Purdue. He got into coaching in 2017 and started working in the NFL in 2021 with the Houston Texans.
Kugler spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons with the Carolina Panthers before joining the Patriots.
This is the second coaching change for the Patriots as the team will also be hiring a new defensive coordinator.