Eric Yarber
Eric Lamone Yarber is an American football coach and former college player who is currently the wide receivers coach for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League. He played two seasons in the NFL as a wide receiver for the Washington Redskins in 1986 [Washington Redskins season|1986] and 1987, which included a win in Super Bowl XXII.
Early life
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Yarber grew up in Southern California in South-Central Los Angeles, and graduated from Crenshaw High School. Though he did not play varsity football in high school due to his size, he played junior college football at Los Angeles Valley College. He transferred to Idaho of the Big Sky Conference in 1984 [Idaho Vandals football team|1984] to play for third-year head coach Yarber was the conference MVP in his senior season of Idaho Vandals football team|1985], and the Vandals won their first league title Yarber led the Big Sky in receiving with over 1,100 yards and ten touchdowns during the eleven-game regular season. Teammates on the Palouse included quarterback Scott Linehan and offensive lineman Tom Cable, both future NFL head coaches, and linemanYarber was selected in the twelfth round of the 1986 NFL draft by the Washington Redskins and played two seasons.
Coaching career
Yarber began his coaching career back at Idaho in 1996 as a secondary defensive back coach under second-year head coach Chris Tormey. He was the wide receivers coach at UNLV in 1997. The next year, head coach Dennis Erickson hired Yarber to be the offensive quality control coach of the Seattle Seahawks season|Seattle Seahawks] in the NFL, and coached under Erickson from and.Yarber was on Erickson's staff at Oregon State in the Pac-10 Conference. In 1999 [Oregon State Beavers football team|1999], he was the running backs coach, and the 2000 [Oregon State Beavers football team|next year] he became the wide receivers coach. He coached Chad Johnson and T. J. Houshmandzadeh during their time with the Beavers. He followed Erickson back to the pros with the San Francisco 49ers, as the receivers coach in 2003 [San Francisco 49ers season|2003] and 2004. Following Erickson's dismissal, Yarber was the receivers coach for the Washington Huskies football team|Washington Huskies] for two seasons under head coach Tyrone Willingham. In 2007 [Arizona State Sun Devils football team|2007], Yarber became the receivers coach for the Arizona State under Erickson through 2009 [Arizona State Sun Devils football team|2009].
In 2010 [Tampa Bay Buccaneers season|2010], Yarber moved back to the NFL for two seasons as the wide receivers coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Following a 4–12 record in 2011, Raheem Morris and his staff were fired on January 2, 2012. A week later on January 9, Yarber was named the wide receivers coach for 2012 [UCLA Bruins football team|UCLA] under new head coach Jim Mora. He returned to the NFL in as the wide receivers coach for the 2017 [Los Angeles Rams season|Los Angeles Rams]. Yarber won his first championship as coach and second overall after the Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.