Hometown
San Francisco, California
Alma Mater
UC Davis ’05
Recruiting Areas
California (Peninsula, South Bay, North Bay), Connecticut, Delaware, Florida (Central), Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania
Eric Sanders begins his third season on The Farm as a full-time assistant coach in 2022. He works with the Cardinal inside linebackers. This marks Sanders' second stint at Stanford, after he spent the 2015 campaign as a defensive assistant. He also adds nine years of NFL coaching experience.
Sanders led a much-improved inside linebacker corps in 2020, as his two starters Curtis Robinson and Levani Damuni were Stanford's top two tacklers. Robinson, who was a captain and named honorable mention All-Pac-12, tallied 44 tackles, three tackles for loss, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and a pass breakup in just six games. Damuni, who had played in just one career game prior to the 2020 season, following a two-year LDS mission (2018-19), totaled 42 tackles with an interception and a fumble recovery.
Damuni continued his growth in the 2021 season as Stanford's leading tackler with 88, 49 solo tackles. The junior added 5.0 tackles for a loss with two being sacks. Damuni was followed by Ricky Miezan with 68 tackles as Stanford's two leading tacklers, as both came from Sanders' group. Miezan and Jacob Mangum-Farrar (41 tackles) both returned to the field after missing extensive time with injuries to lead the Cardinal defense on the season.
Sanders spent the 2015 season working with the Cardinal defensive line, helping Stanford to the Pac-12 and Rose Bowl titles. During that Rose Bowl campaign, Sanders mentored future NFL stars such as Harrison Phillips, Brennan Scarlett and Solomon Thomas.
Prior to his time at Stanford in 2015, he spent five seasons with the Oakland Raiders, first as an offensive quality control coach before making the switch to the defensive side of the ball. Sanders spent two seasons coaching linebackers at UC Davis before making his move to the NFL. He also spent the 2007 season as a graduate assistant at Utah State, working with the defensive line.
Sanders is a 2005 graduate of UC Davis, where he began his career as a student assistant coach and video coordinator in 2003. After graduation, he transitioned to a coaching role as assistant offensive line and tight ends coach for two seasons.
He and his wife, Maki Ishihara-Sanders, have two sons, EJ and Arty.
The Sanders File
| Season | Program | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2020-present | Stanford | Inside Linebackers |
| 2019 | New York Jets | Defensive Assistant |
| 2016-18 | Cleveland Browns | Defensive Assistant |
| 2015 | Stanford | Defensive Assistant |
| 2010-14 | Oakland Raiders | Quality Control |
| 2008-09 | UC Davis | Linebackers |
| 2007 | Utah State | Graduate Assistant |