Football
Sacks, Barry
Barry Sacks
- Title:
- Defensive Line
- Email:
- hunter.woltering@mso.umt.edu
- Phone:
- 243-2969
Twitter: @CoachSacksGriz
Montana alum Barry Sacks brings more than 42 years of coaching experience to the 2022 Grizzlies in his fifth season as the defensive line coach under Bobby Hauck.
He returned to his alma mater in 2018 and the city he calls “the crown jewel of Montana” after one season as the defensive coordinator at Humboldt State. Before that, he spent 18 seasons coaching at the FBS level in the Mountain West Conference (formally the WAC), the Pac-12 Conference and professionally for the San Jose Sabercats of the AFL. He also helped coach Boise State to the 1994 D1-AA (now FCS) national championship game.
Recruited to play at UM by former Griz head coach Jack Swarthout, Sacks was a four-year letterman at UM who played linebacker from 1976-79 and earned a bachelor of science degree in health education and physical education. Known as one of the team’s hardest hitters, he posted 79 tackles (10 solo) and had one interception his senior season.
Sacks and Hauck coached against one another three times in the “Battle for Nevada” during Hauck’s tenure at UNLV from 2010-12. Sacks and the Wolf Pack defeated the Rebels in all three of those encounters, and in 2011 the Nevada defense shut out UNLV 37-0 to win the Fremont Cannon.
They also coached against one another after Sacks returned to the Mountain West Conference for two seasons at New Mexico and a season at San Jose State following one season in the Pac-12 at California in 2013.
Since returning to Montana in 2018, Sacks has helped develop some of the most dominant defenses in school history. In 2021, the Grizzly defense gave up one touchdown or less in six games, and kept opposing offenses out of the end zone completely on three different occasions. The 2021 Griz led the Big Sky and were third in the FCS in rushing defense, allowing just 2.4 yards per carry -the fewest in a season at Montana since 1989. That year the Griz also totaled 44 sacks, the fourth-most in the FCS. In fact, only seven teams in all of D-I football tallied more.
At Humboldt State, Sacks helped coach the Lumberjacks to and 8-2 overall record and the second-best rushing defense in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC).
As the D-line coach at San Jose State in 2016, Sacks coached the Mountain West Conference’s leader in sacks and current Chicago Bear Isaiah Irving, who posted seven sacks for a total loss of 48 yards in conference play.
Coach Sacks’ D-lines at New Mexico (2014-15) also saw an increase in sacks, totaling 24 in 2014, up from just 16 the season before.
He coached future NFL defensive tackle Deandre Coleman during the 2013 season at Cal. Coleman earned a Phil Steele third-team All-Pac-12 honor under Sacks’ guidance, leading all Golden Bear defensive linemen with 40 tackles.
Sacks spent 11 seasons on the coaching staff at Nevada before his arrival at Cal, with the Wolf Pack playing in bowl games each of his final eight campaigns.
The energetic and enthusiastic coach served in a number of roles during his 11 seasons at Nevada from 2002-12 but was a mainstay on the defensive line in his later seasons.
He developed some of the top pass rushers in Nevada school history, most notably third-round NFL draftee Dontay Moch, who set the WAC record for career TFLs, and first-team All-WAC D-end Kevin Basped, who ranked No. 21 in the nation in sacks his senior season.
He spent three seasons as Nevada’s co-defensive coordinator from 2004-06, helping the Wolf Pack rank 30th in the nation in 2006 in scoring defense (19.15 points per game allowed) and post the country’s 21st-ranked passing defense (190.33 yards per game allowed) in 2004.
Sacks went to Nevada after one-year as the defensive coordinator with the San Jose Sabercats of the Arena Football League in 2001. Before that, he served as defensive coordinator in his first stint at San Jose State from 1998-2000. Sacks also spent one season as co-offensive coordinator at D-II Adams (Colo.) State in 1997.
No stranger to the Big Sky Conference, he spent four seasons as the defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator at Boise State (1993-96), with the Broncos reaching the Division I-AA finals in 1994. BSU also won the conference championship that year, handing the Griz their second conference loss, a 38-14 contest in Boise that saw the Broncos tally a staggering 13 sacks against Montana.
Sacks began his college coaching career with seven seasons as the defensive line coach at, then, D-II Portland State (1986-92), where he coached on five teams that reached the playoffs.
Sacks and his wife, Teresa, have two children: Alexandra and Philip.
The Sacks File
Hometown: Ephrata, Wash.
Alma Mater: Montana, 1980, B.S. Health Education and Physical Education
Playing Experience: Montana, 1976-79
Family: Wife Teresa, daughter Alexandra, son Philip
Coaching Experience
Bowl Games/Postseason (season, not year of bowl game)
Notable Players
Montana alum Barry Sacks brings more than 42 years of coaching experience to the 2022 Grizzlies in his fifth season as the defensive line coach under Bobby Hauck.
He returned to his alma mater in 2018 and the city he calls “the crown jewel of Montana” after one season as the defensive coordinator at Humboldt State. Before that, he spent 18 seasons coaching at the FBS level in the Mountain West Conference (formally the WAC), the Pac-12 Conference and professionally for the San Jose Sabercats of the AFL. He also helped coach Boise State to the 1994 D1-AA (now FCS) national championship game.
Recruited to play at UM by former Griz head coach Jack Swarthout, Sacks was a four-year letterman at UM who played linebacker from 1976-79 and earned a bachelor of science degree in health education and physical education. Known as one of the team’s hardest hitters, he posted 79 tackles (10 solo) and had one interception his senior season.
Sacks and Hauck coached against one another three times in the “Battle for Nevada” during Hauck’s tenure at UNLV from 2010-12. Sacks and the Wolf Pack defeated the Rebels in all three of those encounters, and in 2011 the Nevada defense shut out UNLV 37-0 to win the Fremont Cannon.
They also coached against one another after Sacks returned to the Mountain West Conference for two seasons at New Mexico and a season at San Jose State following one season in the Pac-12 at California in 2013.
Since returning to Montana in 2018, Sacks has helped develop some of the most dominant defenses in school history. In 2021, the Grizzly defense gave up one touchdown or less in six games, and kept opposing offenses out of the end zone completely on three different occasions. The 2021 Griz led the Big Sky and were third in the FCS in rushing defense, allowing just 2.4 yards per carry -the fewest in a season at Montana since 1989. That year the Griz also totaled 44 sacks, the fourth-most in the FCS. In fact, only seven teams in all of D-I football tallied more.
At Humboldt State, Sacks helped coach the Lumberjacks to and 8-2 overall record and the second-best rushing defense in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC).
As the D-line coach at San Jose State in 2016, Sacks coached the Mountain West Conference’s leader in sacks and current Chicago Bear Isaiah Irving, who posted seven sacks for a total loss of 48 yards in conference play.
Coach Sacks’ D-lines at New Mexico (2014-15) also saw an increase in sacks, totaling 24 in 2014, up from just 16 the season before.
He coached future NFL defensive tackle Deandre Coleman during the 2013 season at Cal. Coleman earned a Phil Steele third-team All-Pac-12 honor under Sacks’ guidance, leading all Golden Bear defensive linemen with 40 tackles.
Sacks spent 11 seasons on the coaching staff at Nevada before his arrival at Cal, with the Wolf Pack playing in bowl games each of his final eight campaigns.
The energetic and enthusiastic coach served in a number of roles during his 11 seasons at Nevada from 2002-12 but was a mainstay on the defensive line in his later seasons.
He developed some of the top pass rushers in Nevada school history, most notably third-round NFL draftee Dontay Moch, who set the WAC record for career TFLs, and first-team All-WAC D-end Kevin Basped, who ranked No. 21 in the nation in sacks his senior season.
He spent three seasons as Nevada’s co-defensive coordinator from 2004-06, helping the Wolf Pack rank 30th in the nation in 2006 in scoring defense (19.15 points per game allowed) and post the country’s 21st-ranked passing defense (190.33 yards per game allowed) in 2004.
Sacks went to Nevada after one-year as the defensive coordinator with the San Jose Sabercats of the Arena Football League in 2001. Before that, he served as defensive coordinator in his first stint at San Jose State from 1998-2000. Sacks also spent one season as co-offensive coordinator at D-II Adams (Colo.) State in 1997.
No stranger to the Big Sky Conference, he spent four seasons as the defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator at Boise State (1993-96), with the Broncos reaching the Division I-AA finals in 1994. BSU also won the conference championship that year, handing the Griz their second conference loss, a 38-14 contest in Boise that saw the Broncos tally a staggering 13 sacks against Montana.
Sacks began his college coaching career with seven seasons as the defensive line coach at, then, D-II Portland State (1986-92), where he coached on five teams that reached the playoffs.
Sacks and his wife, Teresa, have two children: Alexandra and Philip.
The Sacks File
Hometown: Ephrata, Wash.
Alma Mater: Montana, 1980, B.S. Health Education and Physical Education
Playing Experience: Montana, 1976-79
Family: Wife Teresa, daughter Alexandra, son Philip
Coaching Experience
| 1987-92 | Portland State (DL) |
| 1993-96 | Boise State (DL/RC) |
| 1997 | Adams State (Co-OC/WR) |
| 1998-00 | San Jose State (DC) |
| 2001 | San Jose Sabercats – AFL (DC) |
| 2002 | Nevada (TE) |
| 2003 | Nevada (DE) |
| 2004-06 | Nevada (Co-DC/DL) |
| 2007-12 | Nevada (DL) |
| 2013 | California (DL) |
| 2014-15 | New Mexico (DL) |
| 2016 | San Jose State (DL) |
| 2017 | Humboldt State (DL) |
| 2018-Present | Montana (DL) |
Bowl Games/Postseason (season, not year of bowl game)
| 1994 | Div. 1-AA Finalist |
| 2005 | Hawaii Bowl |
| 2006 | MPC Computers Bowl |
| 2007 | New Mexico Bowl |
| 2008 | Humanitarian Bowl |
| 2009 | Hawaii Bowl |
| 2010 | Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl |
| 2011 | Hawaii Bowl |
| 2012 | New Mexico Bowl |
| 2015 | New Mexico Bowl |
Notable Players
- Coached NFL defensive tackle Deandre Coleman in 2013 at Cal.
- Coached 2011 NFL third-round draftee, Dontay Moch at Nevada
- Coached 2011 Sports Illustrated All-America defensive tackle Brett Roy at Nevada
- Coached Kevin Basped in 2009 - led the WAC in sacks (9.5) and third in TFLs (1.04/G)
- Recruited quarterback Colin Kaepernick to Nevada in 2006
- Recruited wide receiver Rishard Matthews of the Tennessee Titans to Nevada in 2009
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