Erik Campbell facts for kids

Erik Campbell is an American gridiron football coach and former player. He was born on January 21, 1966. He is currently an assistant wide receivers coach for the University of Michigan football team.

Campbell played college football at the University of Michigan from 1984 to 1987. He has coached at many universities. These include the United States Naval Academy (1989–1990) and Ball State University (1991–1993). He also coached at Syracuse University (1994) and Michigan (1995–2007). Later, he coached at the University of Iowa (2008–2012). He also coached for the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League (2013–2014). From 2003 to 2007, he was the assistant head coach at Michigan under Lloyd Carr.

Early Life and High School Sports

Erik Campbell grew up in Gary, Indiana. He was a talented athlete at Gary's Theodore Roosevelt High School. He played football and also ran track.

He was an all-state player in football. He was also an All-American in track during high school. Erik Campbell has been honored for his achievements. He is in both the Indiana High School Track and Field Hall of Fame. He is also in the Indiana High School Football Hall of Fame.

Playing for the Michigan Wolverines

Erik Campbell went to the University of Michigan. He played for the Michigan Wolverines football team from 1984 to 1987. His coach was the famous Bo Schembechler.

In 1984, as a freshman, he started five games as a free safety. The next year, in 1985, Campbell moved to the offense. He played as a wide receiver. He also returned 14 punts for 120 yards that season.

In 1986, Campbell went back to defense. He started 11 games at cornerback and two at free safety. His team won the Big Ten Conference championship. They were ranked No. 8 in the final AP poll. As a senior in 1987, Campbell started seven games at cornerback. He also started five games at free safety.

During his four years at Michigan, Campbell made 98 tackles. He also had five interceptions. He returned 17 punts for 132 yards. He graduated in 1988 with a degree in general studies.

Erik Campbell's Coaching Journey

Campbell started his coaching career at Michigan in 1988. He was a graduate assistant coach. After that, he became an assistant coach at Navy. He coached the running backs from 1989 to 1990.

He also coached running backs at Ball State University from 1991 to 1993. Then, he coached at Syracuse in 1994.

Coaching at Michigan (1995-2007)

In 1995, Campbell returned to his old school, Michigan. He was an assistant football coach for 13 years, until 2007. At Michigan, he coached wide receivers and punt returners. He was also the team's assistant head coach from 2003 to 2007.

He set a special NCAA record. He coached a wide receiver who gained over 1,000 yards for eight years in a row. This was from 1998 to 2005. He coached many famous receivers at Michigan. Some of them were Braylon Edwards, David Terrell, and Amani Toomer. He also coached Charles Woodson as a punt returner. Another player, Steve Breaston, set a Big Ten record for punt return yards. In December 2007, the new Michigan head coach, Rich Rodriguez, changed the coaching staff. Campbell and other coaches left the team.

Coaching at Iowa (2008-2012)

In February 2008, Campbell joined the University of Iowa coaching staff. He coached wide receivers and tight ends. Iowa's head coach, Kirk Ferentz, was happy to have him. He called Campbell "a great young coach."

In 2010, Campbell focused only on wide receivers. Two Iowa wide receivers, Derrell Johnson-Koulianos and Marvin McNutt, earned All-Big Ten honors. Johnson-Koulianos set Iowa's career record for receiving yards. In 2011, Marvin McNutt was named an All-American receiver. He had 1,315 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. McNutt also broke Johnson-Koulianos' record with 2,861 career receiving yards.

Recent Coaching Roles

In 2015, Campbell rejoined the Michigan Wolverines football team. He worked as a football operations assistant. He worked under the new head coach, Jim Harbaugh. Campbell and Harbaugh were teammates at Michigan from 1984 to 1986.

On April 20, 2017, Campbell joined the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football staff. He worked under new head coach Danny Rocco. Before that, he was the wide receiver coach at the University of Connecticut in 2016. He then coached wide receivers and was the pass game coordinator for Bowling Green from 2019 to 2024. As of 2025, he is back at Michigan as an assistant wide receivers coach.