The Buffalo Bills have turned to a familiar face to coach their offensive line.
The team announced Monday it has hired Aaron Kromer as its new offensive line coach – a key remaining vacancy under head coach Sean McDermott and offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey. Kromer, 54, has 20 years of experience as an NFL assistant and served two seasons as the Bills' line coach on the staff of Rex Ryan in 2015 and 2016.
His hiring was revealed in a Twitter post by his daughter, Brooke Kromer, and it was confirmed to The News by a league source before officially being announced by the team. Kromer replaces Bobby Johnson, who spent the last three seasons as line coach under McDermott and former offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, who left to become head coach of the New York Giants. Johnson will serve in the same capacity on Daboll's staff in New York.
Kromer got his start in the NFL as an assistant offensive line coach on the staff of the Oakland Raiders in 2001, working under Bill Callahan, one of the most respected offensive line coaches in recent NFL history. Kromer stayed four years in Oakland. Callahan was the head coach for two of them.
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From 2005 to 2007, Kromer worked in Tampa Bay under another famous offensive line coach, Bill Muir. Then he worked for five years under Sean Payton in New Orleans, winning a Super Bowl ring in 2009. He took over as interim head coach for six games in 2012 when Payton was suspended as part of the "BountyGate" investigation. That stint was followed by two years in Chicago as the Bears' offensive coordinator and the two years in Buffalo. During his first stint in Buffalo, the Bills led the NFL in rushing in back-to-back years, with 152.0 yards per game in 2015 and 164.4 the following year.
"Let’s go! Big time hire," former Bills center Eric Wood, the team's current radio analyst, said in a tweet, reacting to the news. "Kromer is an incredible O-line coach and can be valuable for a first time play caller in Dorsey."
Kromer's time in Buffalo, however, was not without controversy. He was suspended six games by the team at the start of the 2015 season after he was arrested earlier that year for misdemeanor assault and battery after allegedly punching a teenager in the face and threatening to kill his family over the use of beach chairs. Those charges were dropped a few weeks later at the request of the alleged victim's family.
Kromer joined Rams coach Sean McVay from 2017 through 2020, holding the title of run game coordinator and offensive line coach for those three years. The Rams announced McVay and Kromer mutually agreed to part ways after the 2020 season. Kromer’s son, Zachery, remains on the Rams' staff as offensive quality control coach.
The last remaining vacancy on the offensive coaching staff is at assistant quarterbacks coach. Shea Tierney, who previously held that position, left to become the Giants' quarterbacks coach. The Bills hired former Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady to replace Dorsey as quarterbacks coach.
