WR Coach Eric Yarber

WR Coach Eric Yarber Stays in L.A. to Work with Rams

Myles Simmons

http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Yarber-Stays-in-LA-to-Work-with-Rams/346bd621-6552-4ff6-8b6f-e7b413bb2fdc

While many of the Rams’ new coaches have had to pack up and move across the country, one of them hasn’t had to go far at all.

Wide receivers coach Eric Yarber has spent the last five seasons at UCLA as the wide receivers coach under Jim Mora Jr. But now he’s moving up the road from Westwood to Thousand Oaks to work for head coach Sean McVay.

“I’m very excited about working with coach McVay,” Yarber said in an interview with therams.com. “He has a world of knowledge. He’s a very sharp offensive mind and he’s one of the up and coming head coaches.”

But what’s more is having grown up in Los Angeles, Yarber used to root for the team that now employs him.

“I remember Jackie Slater, Lawrence McCutcheon, and my all-time favorite was Harold Jackson,” Yarber said. “I thought one day, I would play for them. But that didn’t happen. But the next best thing is to coach for them.”

Yarber did play in the NFL for three seasons in the 1980s, and was part of the Washington team that won Super Bowl XXII in 1988. That year, he led the club with 37 punt returns.

Now as a coach, Yarber sees it as his job to ensure players under his purview reach their highest potential. And he’s embracing the challenge of getting Los Angeles’ receivers to perform at a higher, more consistent level.

“It’s a chance for me to get those guys off their mark,” Yarber said. “It’s up to me to take them to the next level, take them to a place that they can’t go by themselves. So I’m up for the challenge and I know that speaking with some of the guys, they’re up for the challenge, also.”

And while there’s still much work to be done, Yarber likes some of the traits he’s seen displayed on film.

“When I took a look a the receiving corps, I saw a variety of guys’ skill sets,” Yarber said. “You’ve got guys who can run your option routes, you’ve got guys who can take the top off. You’ve got big targets. So, it’s a nice variety to have.”