While not completely unheard of, the path from successful high school head coach to Division I head coach is rare.
There are recent examples. It's a path Tony Sanchez (Bishop Gorman HS to UNLV) and Trent Dilfer (Lipscomb Academy to UAB) both took in landing jobs at the FBS level.
A school at the FCS level has decided to be the latest.
Eric Kjar, who has racked up an incredible record as one of the top head high school coaches in the state rewriting all kinds of records in Utah, is being tabbed as the new head coach at Weber State (FCS - UT).
With nine years of head coaching experience at Corner Canyon HS (UT) and another eight at Jordan HS (UT), Kjar has put together a record of 181-39 and brought home a total of seven state titles.
Those seven championships are the most in Utah high school history. Since taking over at Corner Canyon in 2018, Kjar has gone a remarkable 115-10 overall.
From 2018-21 Kjar's Corner Canyon program won 48-straight games, which is a state record, eclipsing the previous record of 37 by 11 games.
The list of quarterbacks that have been developed under Kjar are perhaps even more impressive than his coaching record. He has worked with NFL quarterbacks Zach Wilson and Jaxson Dart during their prep careers, and also worked with former Utah quarterback Isaac Wilson and Ohio State and Cal quarterback Devin Brown as well as Austin Kafentzis, who rewrote the Utah high school record books while setting records for all-time passing yards, rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, and a host of others.
At Weber State, Kjar he will take over the program his son (a sophomore) is enrolled at as a wide receiver.
He replaces Mickey Mental at Weber State, who the school dismissed with two games left in their season, leaving the school with a 13-20 record in just under three seasons.