Aaron Kromer

Coaching Record

Years Coached Record Win % Playoff record Playoff win %
22 201-152-0 56.94% 12-11 52.17%

Biography

Career Summary

Aaron Kromer is a football coach in the National Football League (NFL) and has been the offensive line coach for the Buffalo Bills since 2022. During this time period, the Bills compiled a 24-9-0 record.

Personal Information

Kromer was born on Sunday, April 30, 1967 in Sandusky, Ohio.

Table of Contents

Playing Career

High School

North Central Ohio native Aaron Kromer played football for Margaretta High School in Castalia as part of a squad that won, or shared in, the Sandusky Bay Conference title in 1983 and 1985. Upon his graduation in 1985, Kromer went on to play for Miami of Ohio in Oxford, Ohio.

College

While at Miami of Ohio, Kromer played offensive tackle for the Redhawks for three seasons in 1987, 1988, and 1989. Kromer’s successes as a player for Miami of Ohio included being named as a second-team All-Mid-America Conference offensive lineman for 1989. He was a three-year letter winner for the Redhawks and served as his team’s captain for two years. He is one of only four players in the school’s history to serve as captain for two years. Upon graduation in 1990, Kromer would quickly go from a Redhawks player, to alumni, to Graduate Assistant, to becoming a Redhawks coach.

Coaching Career

College

Miami of Ohio

After graduating in 1990, Kromer would become a graduate assistant with the University of Miami. The school has a history of legendary coaches including Sid Gillman (1944-1947), Woody Hayes (1949-1950), Ara Parseghian (1951-1955) and Bo Schembechler (1963-1968). After serving as graduate assistant for two seasons, Kromer would move up to coach the tight ends and half-backs from 1992 to 1997 serving under head coach Randy Walker. It was during this period, in 1994 and 1995 that Aaron would work with offensive coordinator, and future Super Bowl head coach Sean Payton. While Payton took a quarterbacks coaching position at Illinois in 1998, Kromer would stay to coach the offensive line at Miami for another year. He then accepted a position at Northwestern for the 1999 and 2000 seasons, again serving under head coach Randy Walker.

Northwestern University

Kromer was again serving as an assistant coach under Randy Walker in 1999 and 2000, and the pair helped engineer some remarkable football for Wildcat fans. Kromer was an offensive line coach at a time when Northwestern featured a wide-open offense that not only led to some entertaining football but led to a Big Ten Co-Championship for the Wildcats in 2000. It would be Kromer’s last season in college football as the NFL was calling.

NFL Coaching

Oakland Raiders

In 2001, Kromer would spend the first of many years coaching in the NFL. His initial position was working with Jon Gruden, who installed him as his Assistant Offensive Line Coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. The staff also included Marc Trestman who was quarterbacks coach. He was promoted to offensive line coach of the Raiders from 2002-04, and was part of two AFC West Championships in his time at Oakland. In 2002 the Raiders advanced to play in 2002’s Super Bowl XXXVII. In 2005, Kromer's career would take him to another Bay Area city, this time traveling across country to Tampa to work for the Buccaneers. He would rejoin his former head coach in Oakland, Jon Gruden.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Kromer’s arrival in 2005 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was that as senior assistant. He worked mostly with Tampa’s offensive line. In two of his three seasons with the Bucs, Tampa Bay would win the NFC South Division Title. In the 2007 season his offensive line worked hard enough to help the offense average an impressive 327 yards per contest. Kromer’s reputation for helping develop potent offenses at Northwestern, Oakland and now Tampa Bay was gaining steam. After three seasons with Tampa Bay, Kromer accepted a position with the New Orleans Saints, where ultimately he would get a brief taste of head coaching under less than ideal circumstances.

New Orleans Saints

A familiar name from his days at the University of Miami, Sean Payton was now head coach of the New Orleans Saints. It was 2008 and Kromer accepted the position of running backs coach in New Orleans. The team had Drew Brees at quarterback and Reggie Bush at running back and would have a respectable 8-8 mark that first season with Kromer, but things were about to get more interesting.

In 2009, Kromer would move to offensive line coach and three of his offensive line players would be named to the Pro Bowl. The stout offensive line performance under Kromer’s tutelage would help generate almost 404 yards per contest, and allowed only 20 quarterback sacks. Most importantly however, would be the fact that in this 43rd season for the Saints, they would finally make their first appearance in the Super Bowl. Not only would they appear in the Super Bowl, they would win it, defeating the Indianapolis Colts 31-17. The huge win would not only get Kromer a Super Bowl ring, he would be honored along with fellow Miami of Ohio Alumni Dan Dalrymple, who at the time was head strength and conditioning coach for the Saints. The pair would serve the following season as Grand Marshals during the 2010 Miami University Alumni Weekend festivities.

In 2010 the Saints had a very respectable 11-5 record, made the playoffs as a wild card team, but were eliminated by the Seattle Seahawks in the first round, 41-36.

The 2011 season saw the Saints put together another impressive 13-3 season. With Kromer again coaching the offensive line, the team put up an amazing 7,474 yards of offense, finishing second in both fewest amount of sacks allowed (24) and points-per-game (34.2). After winning a playoff game against the Lions, Super Bowl fever was once again building in New Orleans. It would be short-lived however, as the Saints would fall to the San Francisco 49ers in a divisional playoff game. The low point for Saints was still ahead.

The “Bountygate” scandal following the 2011 season and head coach Sean Payton was suspended for the entire 2012 season. Joe Vitt was named interim coach, but when Vitt too was suspended for six games, Aaron Kromer was in position to serve as interim head coach for those first six games of the season. He would put up a 2-4 mark. The team, in disarray following the suspensions and scandal, went on to post a 7-9 season record, and miss the playoffs entirely. It would be Kromer’s last season with the Saints.

Chicago Bears

Following the 2012 season and his first taste, albeit a brief one as a NFL head coach, Kromer went on to work with the Chicago Bears and another old friend in new head coach March Trestman. Kromer had worked with Trestman in Oakland. Kromer would be offensive coordinator while working with the offensive line. Once again, a Kromer led offense would blossom, putting up the second best scoring total in the league. In his time with Chicago, the Bear offense broke franchise records with 6,109 total yards, 32 passing TD’s, 4,450 yards and total first downs that reached 344. In 2015 the Buffalo Bills and Rex Ryan would tab Kromer to help improve their offense.

Buffalo Bills

In January of 2015 the Buffalo Bills', under new head coach Rex Ryan, signed Kromer to a two year contract as offensive coordinator. In July, Kromer was charged in Florida after apparently physically confronting one of three youths who allegedly used his beach chairs without asking. Quickly, the Bills placed him on paid leave. At the end of July, the parents of the boys dropped their complaint. Still, two days later, the Bills announced Kromer would serve a six game suspension without pay at the start of the 2015 regular season.


History

Year Position Record Playoff record
2023 Buffalo Bills Offensive Line Coach 11-6-0 1-1
2022 Buffalo Bills Offensive Line Coach 13-3-0 1-1
2020 Los Angeles Rams Offensive Run Game Coordinator / Offensive Line Coach 10-6-0 1-1
2019 Los Angeles Rams Offensive Run Game Coordinator 9-7-0 0-0
2018 Los Angeles Rams Offensive Run Game Coordinator 13-3-0 2-1
2017 Los Angeles Rams Offensive Line Coach 11-5-0 0-1
2016 Buffalo Bills Offensive Line Coach 7-9-0 0-0
2015 Buffalo Bills Offensive Line Coach 8-8-0 0-0
2014 Chicago Bears Offensive Coordinator 5-11-0 0-0
2013 Chicago Bears Offensive Coordinator / Offensive Line Coach 8-8-0 0-0
2012 New Orleans Saints Interim Head Coach / Offensive Line Coach 2-4-0 0-0
2012 New Orleans Saints Offensive Line Coach 5-5-0 0-0
2011 New Orleans Saints Offensive Line Coach 13-3-0 1-1
2010 New Orleans Saints Offensive Line Coach 11-5-0 0-1
2009 New Orleans Saints Offensive Line Coach 13-3-0 3-0
2008 New Orleans Saints Running Backs Coach 8-8-0 0-0
2007 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Offensive Line Coach / Senior Assistant Coach 9-7-0 0-1
2006 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Offensive Line Coach / Senior Assistant Coach 4-12-0 0-0
2005 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Senior Assistant Coach 11-5-0 0-1
2004 Oakland Raiders Offensive Line Coach 5-11-0 0-0
2003 Oakland Raiders Offensive Line Coach 4-12-0 0-0
2002 Oakland Raiders Offensive Line Coach 11-5-0 2-1
2001 Oakland Raiders Assistant Offensive Line Coach 10-6-0 1-1

Coach history guide

Seasons with a championship win Seasons with a conference championship

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