Kevin Garver (born July 28, 1987) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach who was the wide receivers coach for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He was previously the wide receivers coach for the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

, and has also coached at

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, where he was a member of three national championship winning teams as a support staff member.

Coaching career

Alabama

Garver began his coaching career at

as a student assistant in 2007 working under

Nick Saban Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. (; born October 31, 1951) is an American football coach who has been the head football coach at the University of Alabama since 2007. Saban previously served as head coach of the National Football League's Miami Dolphins ...

. He was promoted to a

graduate assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research respons ...

in 2010 and to offensive analyst in 2012. He would end up winning three National Championships while with Alabama.

Arizona Cardinals

Looking for an entry-level job with

Bruce Arians Bruce Charles Arians (born October 3, 1952) is an American football executive and former coach in the National Football League (NFL). Since 2022, he has been a senior football consultant for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Arians was previously the he ...

and the

, Garver got a foot in the door when he met Arians thanks to Tom Moore, whom he met as working as his guide in Tuscaloosa when he was a low-level staffer at Alabama. Garver was hired as an offensive quality control coach with the Cardinals in 2013, working with the wide receivers. While in Arizona, he developed a close relationship with Cardinals star

Larry Fitzgerald Larry Darnell Fitzgerald Jr. (born August 31, 1983) is a former American football wide receiver. Fitzgerald played in the National Football League for 17 seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. He played college football at University of Pittsb ...

and was praised by Fitzgerald for his maturity at a young age, intelligence, and football knowledge. He also had an interview request with the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

blocked in order to keep him with the Cardinals with the hopes of keeping Fitzgerald in Arizona. He was promoted to wide receivers coach in 2018 under first-year head coach

Steve Wilks Steven Bernard Wilks (born August 8, 1969) is an American football coach and former player who is the interim head coach for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the head coach for the Arizona Ca ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Garver was hired as the wide receivers coach for the

in 2019. He was named to

The Athletic ''The Athletic'' is a subscription-based sports website that provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories from top professional and college sports ...

's rising NFL stars under the age of 40 in 2020. He won his first

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

as a coach when the Buccaneers defeated the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

Super Bowl LV Super Bowl LV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2020 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the American Football Conferen ...

References

External links

Tampa Bay Buccaneers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garver, Kevin 1987 births Living people Sportspeople from Tuscaloosa, Alabama Coaches of American football from Alabama Alabama Crimson Tide football coaches Arizona Cardinals coaches Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches