BATON ROUGE — George Yarno, a 13-year professional football veteran, has joined the LSU football staff as the Tigers’ offensive line coach, head coach Nick Saban announced on Tuesday.
Yarno comes to LSU from Arizona State where he served as the Sun Devils’ offensive line coach last year.
“Having played 13 years of professional football, including 11 years in the NFL, George has been coached by some of the best offensive line coaches in the game,” Saban said. “He’s also been a coach at the collegiate level for 10 years, which includes serving as offensive coordinator at Idaho, so he brings a great deal of knowledge and expertise with him. I was on the staff in 1989 when he played for the Houston Oilers and I’ve always been impressed with his work ethic. I think George is a perfect fit for LSU.”
Yarno started his collegiate coaching career at his alma mater, Washington State in 1991 where he served as the offensive line coach and the special teams coach thru the 1995 season. From there he moved to Idaho, serving as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for three years.
In 1998, Yarno moved to the University of Houston where handled the offensive line as well as serving as the assistant head coach for the Cougars for two years.
“I’m excited to be at LSU and to be a part of this big-time college football program,” Yarno said. “Coach Saban is one of the finest coaches in the game and it’s a thrill for me to be able to join his staff and to be a coach in the Southeastern Conference.
“Playing in the NFL for 11 years, I was exposed to a lot of different philosophies and I was very fortunate to be coached by some very good offensive line coaches. I’m a composite of all the attributes that I admired in my offensive line coaches over the years. The techniques and the way that I teach can really benefit a young player. I think I can bring some technical expertise and the overall understanding of the game of football as an offensive lineman views it to LSU.”
As a player, Yarno spent 11 seasons in the NFL, which included eight years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1979-83, 85-87). Yarno also played one each year with the Atlanta Falcons (1988), the Houston Oilers (1989) and the Green Bay Packers (1990). He also spent two years with the Denver Gold (1984-85) of the USFL.
At Washington State, Yarno was a four-year letterwinner on the defensive line for the Cougars from 1975 to 1978. He graduated with a criminal justice degree from Washington State in 1978. Yarno and his wife Cindy have three children, Josh (20), Adrianne (19) and George (16).