Craig Aukerman

Craig Aukerman (born November 22, 1976) is an American football coach who serves as special teams coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served in that same position for the San Diego Chargers, Tennessee Titans, and Miami Dolphins.

Playing career Aukerman played college football at the University of Findlay, where he played defensive back and wide receiver from 1995 to 1998. He was a member of the Findlay teams that won the NAIA national championship in 1995 and 1997. in 2009 Aukerman served as the linebackers at Kent State.

NFL coaching Aukerman broke into the NFL as a defensive assistant for the 2010 Denver Broncos only to leave after a year and join the Jacksonville Jaguars in the same capacity. In 2012, he was transitioned to become an assistant special teams coach instead of defense with the Jaguars. In 2013, Aukerman went out west to San Diego and joined the Chargers. His first three years with the organization he worked as an assistant special teams coach, but in 2016 he was given the coordinator role.

In 2017, Aukerman joined the Titans as an assistant special teams coach but was given the coordinator title by Mike Vrabel the following year. On December 4, 2023, Aukerman was fired following a disastrous 31-28 Week 13 overtime loss to the Indianapolis Colts. The game featured a critical missed extra point attempt and two consecutive punts being blocked; the first of which was returned for a touchdown while the second resulted in a season-ending injury of punter Ryan Stonehouse.

On January 29, 2025, the Miami Dolphins named Aukerman as their special teams coordinator.

On January 26, 2026, the Atlanta Falcons hired Aukerman as their new special teams coordinator under head coach Kevin Stefanski.

Personal life Aukerman and his wife, Summer, both attended rural high schools in Ohio. They met while he was working as a graduate assistant at the University of Miami (Ohio), and she was a volleyball player studying special education. They have two children, Cayden and Bryce.