Kirk Garner has spent the last two seasons at Vanderbilt where he served as an offensive quality control assistant. Garner was named running backs coach on Feb. 22, 2023. 

Prior to Vanderbilt, Garner spent three seasons at Virginia as a graduate assistant where he worked with the defensive backs. In his three seasons as Virginia, the Cavaliers’ defensive backs accounted for 25 of the team’s 35 interceptions, including Joey Blount finishing his career with nine interceptions en route to becoming an all-ACC selection. Blount was signed by the Seattle Seahawks where he played in 11 games during the 2022 season.  

Virginia went to a pair of bowl games during Garner’s time as a graduate assistant on staff. The Cavaliers shutout South Carolina 28-0 in the 2018 Belk Bowl and then played Florida in the 2019 Orange Bowl after Virginia won the ACC Coastal division with a 6-2 record.  

Garner played in 32 games at Virginia where he was a four-year letterwinner for the Cavaliers. Garner totaled 22 tackles and one tackle for loss in his career at Virginia, which was cut short with a season-ending injury in 2017. Following the injury, Garner moved into a student-coach position for the remainder of the 2017 campaign where the Cavaliers reached the Military Bowl.