Matthew Sauk
# Matthew Sauk

Matthew Sauk (born March 15, 1976) is an arena football coach and former quarterback. He played college football at Utah State, was an af2 quarterback from 2001 to 2005, and an AFL quarterback from 2002 to 2008. He has been a football coach since 2008. After being the offensive coordinator for the Utah Blaze from 2011 to 2013, he became the Portland Thunder head coach in 2014. He was the head coach of the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles of the Indoor Football League (IFL) in 2017 and the Columbus Destroyers of the Arena Football League in 2019.

## Early life

Sauk attended Detroit Catholic Central High School during the 1990–91 school year. Sauk transferred to Woodbridge High School in Irvine, California for his final three years of high school.

## College career

### Orange Coast College

Sauk attended Orange Coast College after graduation high school, where he continued his football career for the Pirates.

### Utah State

Sauk's play at Orange Coast earned him a scholarship to Utah State University, where he continued his football career with the Aggies. Sauk started for two years, earning 2nd Team All-Big West Conference in 1997, while leading the Aggies to the 1997 Humanitarian Bowl.

## Professional career

Sauk spent parts of eight seasons bouncing between the af2 and Arena Football League. In 2001, he was named the af2 Rookie of the Year while playing for the Tennessee Valley Vipers. In 2005, he was named the af2 Offensive Player of the Year while playing for the Louisville Fire.

## Coaching career

### Spokane Shock

Sauk joined the Spokane Shock in 2008 as a quarterback and wide receivers coach. After taking 2009 off, Sauk rejoined the Shock in 2010 as the team's offensive coordinator. The Shock won ArenaBowl XXIII under Sauk's offensive guidance.

### Utah Blaze

Sauk joined the Utah Blaze in 2011 as the team's offensive coordinator. During his first two seasons with the Blaze, Sauk was named the Net10 Assistant Coach of the Year, helping quarterback Tommy Grady win the 2012 Arena Football League Most Valuable Player Award.

### Portland Thunder

On October 8, 2013, Sauk was named the head coach of the Portland Thunder that began play in 2014. Sauk was let go following a disappointing 5–13 season and a playoff berth.

### Los Angeles KISS

Sauk was hired by the Los Angeles KISS in 2015 to be the team's offensive coordinator.

### Orlando Predators

On October 19, 2015, Sauk was hired to become the Orlando Predators's offensive coordinator.

### Salt Lake Screaming Eagles

On March 6, 2017, Sauk was hired to become the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles's head coach after the third week into the IFL season.

### Columbus Destroyers

On February 22, 2019, Sauk was named Head Coach of the Columbus Destroyers for the team's return to the Arena Football League for the 2019 season.

### AFL head coaching record

| Team | Year | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Postseason | Postseason | Postseason | Postseason |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Team | Year | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result |
| UTAH | 2011 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 3rd in NC West | – | – | – | – |
| UTAH Total | UTAH Total | 0 | 2 | .000 | – | – | – | – | |
| POR | 2014 | 5 | 13 | .278 | 3rd in NC Pacific | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to Arizona Rattlers in Conference Semifinals |
| POR Total | POR Total | 5 | 13 | .278 | – | 0 | 1 | .000 | |
| COL | 2019 | 1 | 11 | .083 | 6th in AFL | – | – | – | – |
| Total | Total | 6 | 26 | .188 | | 0 | 1 | .000 | |
