Bills OL coach Aaron Kromer charged with assault, reportedly threatened boy
New Buffalo Bills offensive line coach Aaron Kromer was arrested early Sunday morning and charged with assault and battery, according to the Buffalo News’ Ty Dunne.
According to the Walton County (Fla.) Sheriff’s office, via NFL Network’s Albert Breer, Kromer is being investigated for allegedly pushing and punching a boy — as well as later threatening his and two other boys’ families — over a dispute involving beach chairs. The report doesn’t indicate how old the boys are.
Kromer spent the 2014 season with the Chicago Bears as their offensive coordinator, which was a nightmare for both him and the team. In the midst of the team’s offensive struggles, Kromer leaked a story to an NFL Network reporter that the team had “buyer’s remorse” over signing quarterback Jay Cutler. When word got out that Kromer was the one who told that to the reporter, it created a futher divide in the locker room and caused Kromer to deliver an apology to the team.
After last season, Kromer and most of the Bears’ coaching staff was relieved of their duties.
New Bills head coach Rex Ryan hired Kromer this offseason to coach a rebuilt offensive line that includes troubled guard Richie Incognito. The Bills have yet to respond to the charges.
Kromer, 48, had been seen as a rising star in the coaching ranks in his tenure with the New Orleans Saints from 2008 to 2012. But the past year has been a painful fall with the Bears failures, and now with these charges.
The NFL has an image problem with violence, domestic or otherwise, and it’s not just with its players. Kromer is in a position of leadership with the Bills, and as such the league will hold him to a higher standard — it says — when considering discipline. His future in the NFL, depending on Kromer’s side of the story, could be very much in jeopardy.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm
