Eric Kjar wakes up at 5 a.m. in Draper, drives to Ogden to coach Weber State's football team, and doesn't get home until 9 p.m. It's a grueling daily commute for a Division I head coach who has lived with multiple sclerosis and faced a severe period of depression in his twenties.
From Wyoming Roots to a Record-Setting Prep Career
Kjar has Wyoming roots and coached at Jordan High School before moving on to Corner Canyon, where he built a program that eventually caught the attention of Weber State's administration, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
Kjar was a head coach for 17 years and went 112-10 at Corner Canyon, according to MaxPreps. Corner Canyon had three straight undefeated seasons under his direction, and his teams put together 48 consecutive wins. Kjar won six state titles at Corner Canyon and one at Jordan, one short of Utah's state record of eight.
A Quarterback Factory That Fed the NFL
Kjar mentored quarterbacks Zach Wilson, Jaxson Dart, Isaac Wilson and Devin Brown, along with offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson, the Tribune reports. Zach Wilson was drafted second overall by the New York Jets in 2021, making him the highest-drafted player from a Utah high school in NFL history, according to BYU Athletics. Jaxson Dart, who won national Gatorade Player of the Year under Kjar in 2020, was later selected 25th overall by the New York Giants in the 2025 NFL Draft, as Hoodline detailed in its coverage of Dart's draft selection. Powers-Johnson went on to win the 2023 Rimington Trophy as college football's top center at Oregon before the Las Vegas Raiders took him 44th overall in the 2024 draft, per the team's own Las Vegas Raiders profile.
Making the Leap to Division I Football
Weber State hired Kjar as its head coach in December 2025, and he is now navigating his first college season after a career spent almost entirely in Utah high school gyms and locker rooms. Weber State is aiming to win Big Sky championships and make deep FCS playoff runs, though the early results have been uneven — the Wildcats trailed Portland State 28-7 before rallying to tie the game 41-41, only to lose after Portland State broke the deadlock with an interception and a field goal, the Tribune reports.
The jump has brought financial demands, too, as Kjar looks to replicate his high school dominance at the college level. He has emphasized building with local athletes.
A Father's Death That Shaped a Coaching Philosophy
Kjar's investment in his players' well-being traces back to his own history of loss and illness. His father, Kim Kjar, worked as a heavy-machine mechanic and later suffered a staph infection that reached his heart, requiring surgery to receive new heart valves. Kim Kjar attempted to take his own life and ultimately died after disappearing one October morning; he was found lifeless in the Wyoming outback, per the Tribune's account. Eric Kjar lost his father while he was a college freshman.
That loss arrived years before Kjar's own period of severe depression began. He started his psychological fight against depression in 2010 and was 29 years old when he entered a year of severe depression, according to the Tribune. His wife, Andrea Kjar, helped him seek treatment, and he has since recovered his sense of self, his family bond and his role in coaching. Andrea has said they would find the treatment best for him.
Living With Multiple Sclerosis
Kjar was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He developed weakness and tingling on the left side of his body and was, for a period, barely able to walk.
Kjar takes a daily pill for MS; his depression was in the past. At one point, despite a severe Lisfranc injury, Kjar hiked to Delicate Arch on crutches — a moment the Tribune frames as emblematic of his refusal to be sidelined.
Coaching His Own Sons in Ogden
Now Kjar has the rare opportunity to mentor his own sons, Noah and Tate, who play wide receiver at Weber State.
Kjar has described celebrating each day.
