Robert Kugler didn’t live in Western Pennsylvania for long, but the North Allegheny graduate was here enough to know there aren’t many New England Patriots fans.
Still, he’s optimistic some folks from his adopted hometown will root for him Sunday night. The 33-year-old is the assistant offensive line coach for the Patriots, who face the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX.
“We need all the cheering we can get,” he said. “So, I’ll definitely take some out of Pittsburgh. That would be awesome.”
As the son of a coach, Kugler moved around more than most kids, a unique family life that brought him from Orchard Park, N.Y., to North Allegheny in 2010 for his senior year. His father, Sean, was the Steelers’ offensive line coach.
After winning a state football title with the Tigers, Kugler started four years as Purdue’s center before embarking on a coaching career that has taken him from UTEP and Appalachian State to the Houston Texans, Carolina Panthers and now Patriots. He could’ve long forgotten his days in Western Pa., but he hasn’t.
“When people ask me where I’m from or what I call home, I say Pittsburgh,” Kugler said. “I was there one year, and it was awesome.”
Kugler was hired onto New England’s coaching staff before the 2024 season under then-coach Jerod Mayo. When the Patriots hired Mike Vrabel to replace Mayo, Vrabel chose to keep Kugler on his staff this season.
Kugler works under offensive line coach Doug Marrone, a former NFL head coach.
“This is probably the closest offensive line I’ve been around,” Kugler said. “They all want the best for each other. They push each other. They care about each other. They go to dinner every week. You can feel the closeness of the team. It’s been really cool to watch.”
The Patriots practiced this week at Stanford, yet Kugler said there wasn’t time to enjoy the Bay Area other than a walk he took to an In-N-Out Burger.
His wife, Emily, and sons, Anthony and Noah, arrived midweek. But largely, he said, it’s been a normal practice experience away from Levi’s Stadium, the site for the title game.
“It hasn’t quite hit yet,” Kugler said. “I think it won’t hit until we’re walking in there. I have my little pregame routine that I do, so I’m sure that’ll be when it really hits.”
As a high school senior, Kugler played defensive end and tight end for an Art Walker-coached North Allegheny team that won the 2010 PIAA Class 4A title. The Tigers went 15-1.
Walker recalled Kugler’s toughness and leadership during that postseason run. The 6-foot-3, 245-pound senior fought back from a knee injury to play in a WPIAL semifinal win over Central Catholic.
“A lot of people didn’t think he was going to play, and he played,” Walker said. “It was a huge game, and he played phenomenally. He played both ways and wouldn’t come off the field. We tried to sub for him, and he wouldn’t let guys come in. He said, ‘Coach, if I come off, it’s going to tighten up.’ I said, ‘All right.’ He played the whole game and was just a warrior.”
Walker said that had Kugler not pursued coaching, he would be “capable of doing almost anything,” calling him “very, very bright” and a high achiever academically. Walker is admittedly not a Patriots fan but said he would be rooting for Kugler on Sunday.
Kugler wasn’t surprised.
“That team, the coaches, the players, the school, the community, they adopted us and it was pretty cool,” Kugler said. “I don’t think everybody has that same experience moving somewhere like that.”
As a high school student, Kugler didn’t want a future that involved coaching. The transient nature of the job was unappealing. His father coached stints with the Lions, Bills and Steelers during one 10-season span with a year at Ball State in there, too.
“That was the thing, when I was growing up, that made me say I didn’t want to coach,” Kugler said. “As I was in it, there were times where I didn’t like it. But as I got older, it kind of ended up being really good for me. Moving forced me to get out of my comfort zone. I was a really shy kid. … You end up learning how to make some friends and meet people.
“Now, I also know the hard parts, and I know all my kids are going to be up against, and my wife.”
Kugler said his time at Purdue motivated him to get into coaching. He started 43 consecutive games for the Boilermakers, who changed coaches during his years there.
He also met his future wife at Purdue.
“My wife is a stud,” Kugler said. “She has a great job that allows her to move around. We met when I was a freshman, and she kind of knew what the lifestyle was going to be like. She’s been great the whole time.”
Kugler said practice for the Super Bowl is a little less hectic for the coaching staff since teams have two weeks to prepare. Among his duties as an assistant offensive line coach, Kugler said he handles the run drawings, preps meetings for coaches and players, works with the scout team and fills in wherever he’s needed.
So far, the highlight of his Super Bowl week was any time a practice period went smoothly.
“When none of the looks are messed up, that’s usually good for me,” he said with a laugh. “And I will say that walk to In-N-Out was pretty good, too. I was impressed. It was a good burger.”