NOVEMBER 23: More detail on Kugler’s dismissal emerged Wednesday morning. Kugler groped a woman Sunday night in Mexico City, according to Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com. Mexican authorities notified the Cardinals of the incident. The team put Kugler on a flight back to Arizona on Monday morning, per Weinfuss.
NOVEMBER 22: One of Kliff Kingsbury‘s original Cardinals hires, Sean Kugler is no longer with the team. Kingsbury fired the veteran offensive line coach ahead of the Cards’ game against the 49ers on Monday, Bob McManaman and Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic report.
An unspecified incident Sunday night in Mexico City led to Kugler’s dismissal, according to the Arizona Republic. Kugler, who also served as the Cardinals’ run-game coordinator, had been with the franchise since 2019.
Assistant offensive line coach Brian Natkin and tight ends coach Steve Heiden will take over Kugler’s responsibilities, and Kingsbury said offensive assistant Mike Bercovici will move to tight ends coach. A former Cardinals tight end, Heiden has been on Arizona’s staff since 2013. This will be the first position-coaching role for Bercovici, 29. Natkin has been the Cards’ assistant O-line coach throughout Kingsbury’s tenure.
Kugler, 56, is the former UTEP head coach, serving in that role from 2013-17, but has been on NFL staffs for the most part during the 21st century. Breaking into the league in 2001 with the Lions, Kugler has been an O-line coach in Detroit, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Denver and Arizona. After hiring Kugler to head up their O-line in 2019, the Cardinals named him run-game coordinator in 2021.
This marks the second member of Kingsbury’s initial Cardinals coaching contingent to leave the team since training camp. After being placed on administrative leave due to a domestic battery charge, running backs coach James Saxon resigned in October. Saxon pleaded guilty to the charge earlier this month.
Fire a coach who messes up but the GM drives drunk and is still there. Making decisions BTW like he is still impaired.
I think sexual misconduct is a little different than drunk driving, but this guy was probably not going to be retained anyway, so it’s a good PR move.
Yeah different as in the GM could’ve killed somebody or seriously injure someone while the sexual misconduct probably just gave the coach a chubby. Both are serious issues no doubt but the drunk driving in my opinion is a little more serious.
Love how comments have to be approved when you say someone is a piece of $hiT GM needs to be fired immediately.. nfl doesn’t care who dies as long as women are safe.. #Idiots
ah yes, the one singular problem!
The 1st domino.
What is it he was supposed to coach into guys whose former teams were so eager to dump them? Because he’s spent an awful lot of this season working with total busts like Will Hernandez, Cody Ford, and Billy Price.
Wrote this before I saw they fired him for groping someone, obviously.
Bet on a cock fight?
What did he do? I saw an American was on the run in Mexico for killing prositutes. I hope these aren’t connected.
Why the ***k would they be connected?
Guaranteed you won’t hear a word about it on Hard Knocks. The show and the Cardinals have become a punchline.
After watching HKIS, it’s pretty evident Kliff Kingsbury doesn’t have a clue and doesn’t come off as a leader at all. They’re in a tailspin.
You think he went into one of those Mexican donkey shows?
Haha I remember hearing about those in high school 20 years ago, thanks for the laugh!
I wonder if he caught the bouquet
Interesting that this game wasn’t even close to a sell-out. Why play outside the country if the interest isn’t there?
Playing a NFL game in Mexico while the World Cup is in progress is a great idea if your name is Homer Simpson or Roger Goodell.
Well shoot…this could seriously impact the cards playoff implications..
Maybe he knew too much information on Eno Benjamin being cut! He named names!
He denounced Tito Santana
Is there some reason the Cardinals wouldn’t reach out to Dan Dierdorf? He’s only a HOFer and one of the most respected people to ever be associated with this team.
Reached out to him for what? He’s a 73 year old who’s never coached.
Dierdorf is retired from broadcasting, his most recent gig being game analyst on University of Michigan radio. A man of his reputation isn’t about to leave St. Louis for a region that’s running out of water.
According to espn fired for “groping a woman”. Married 2 kids and one hell of a job so I’ll always ask why??
Sounds like the Mexican Authorities notified the team and gave the team a chance to immediately get him out of the country. Willing to bet money that Coach Kulger will/can never return to Mexico.
You don’t want to go to a Mexican prison.
Maybe he was thinking the Browns needed a new OL coach…and they’d surely triple his salary (guaranteed).
I was thinking that hours later. He gropes a woman and loses his job probably out of the nfl for a little bit. Watson 26 women at least and 13 games and becomes the highest paid nfl player EVER. How is that fair
Amazing he’s gets fired (deservedly so it appears) yet DeShaun Watson keeps his job. AND with a huge raise. Something just does not make sense in the NFL
Not just in the NFL. Kulger is also not disqualified from being elected president of the United States of America!
He needs about 25 more victims
What kind of “grope” are we talking about here? Did he just slap a girls ass?