Fired Arizona Cardinals assistant coach hires law firm to investigate ‘mysterious allegations’

Sean Kugler, former Arizona Cardinals offensive line coach and running game coordinator, has hired a law firm after being fired last month. 

The Cardinals relieved Kugler of his duties while the team was preparing for its game in Mexico City against the San Francisco 49ers. 

The law firm of Shields Pettini claims the Cardinals fired Kugler for “unsubstantiated allegations that he inappropriately touched a female security guard.”

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“The allegations against Coach Kugler are simply untrue and have caused Sean, his wife and family enormous personal and professional damage,” said attorney Michael Pettini. “Coach and his family have been desperate to understand from the Cardinals front office and others what rationale or evidence was used to terminate him for cause.”

The law firm filed a request for arbitration with the NFL and claims Kugler was fired without being interviewed or a thorough investigation being conducted by the team. 

Kugler, who was hired by the Cardinals in 2019, made his first statement since being fired, claiming that it may have been a case of mistaken identity. 

“Respecting women is a core value for me and something I have instilled in my children and the players that I coach,” Kugler said in a statement. “The mysterious allegations by the Cardinals are untrue, and I want to clear my name. Be it a miscommunication or mistaken identity, my family and I will cooperate fully and honestly with the NFL, Cardinals or any other agency to get to the truth in this matter and restore my reputation.”

The alleged incident took place the Saturday before Arizona was scheduled to play San Francisco on Monday Night Football. 

“As an ongoing legal matter, we are going to refrain from comment other than to say that the team is confident the process will result in a much different set of facts than those presented today and that it had good cause to terminate Mr. Kugler’s employment,” the Cardinals said in a statement. 

Kugler has also spent time in the NFL with the Denver Broncos, Pittsburgh Steelers and Detroit Lions. He was also the head coach of the UTEP Miners from 2013-2017. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report