Derek Robert Sage (born October 11, 1978) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach. He the

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...

and tight ends coach at

University of Nevada, Reno The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12, ...

, a position he has held since 2022.

Early life

Sage was born on October 11, 1978, in Ventura County, California. In his high school years, Sage lived in

Sparks, Nevada Sparks is a city in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. It was founded in 1904, incorporated on March 15, 1905, and is located just east of Reno. The 2020 U.S. Census counted 108,445 residents in the city. It is the fifth most populous city in ...

and attended

Edward C. Reed High School Edward C. Reed High School is a public secondary school in Sparks, Nevada and is one of three public high schools run by the Washoe County School District within the city of Sparks. The school was founded in the winter of 1974 to accommodate the ...

Playing career

Sage played as a

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

for the Sacramento City College football team in the 1998 and 1999 seasons. While Sage was at Sacramento C.C., his team won conference championships and bowl championships. Sage then transferred to Cal State Northridge. He played there as a tight end in 2000 and 2001—the program's final two seasons—and earned his bachelor's degree in

kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, biomechanical, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kinesiology to human health ...

in 2002.

Coaching career

Nevada (first stint)

Sage embarked on his coaching career in 2003 as a graduate assistant at

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. He spent two seasons with the program, working with defensive backs in 2003 and with wide receivers in 2004.

New Hampshire

In 2005, Sage landed his first job as a wide receivers coach at

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, where he first met Chip Kelly, who was

at the time of Sage's hire. Sage mentored All-American receiver David Ball, who became the NCAA career leader in touchdown receptions, with 58, and amassed 4,655 receiving yards in his collegiate career—a school record for New Hampshire.

Wyoming

Following a five-year stint at New Hampshire, Sage became the wide receivers coach at

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

in 2010. At Wyoming, Sage mentored future NFL Draft pick Robert Herron. Sage coached four all-conference receivers during his time with the Cowboys, which lasted from 2010 to 2013.

Toledo

In 2014, Sage became the wide receivers coach at

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Orur ...

, where he coached for three seasons. In 2016, Sage's third and final season with the Rockets, Sage oversaw a receiving corps that featured two All-Mid-American Conference receivers. The Rockets ranked seventh in the NCAA in total offense that season, averaging 517.8 yards of offense per game. The Rockets' passing offense that season averaged 322.8 yards per game, which was an improvement of over 88 yards per game from Sage's first season (2014).

Washington State

Sage accepted his first Power Five job in 2017, becoming the inside receivers coach at

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

, which ran an air raid offense under head coach Mike Leach. The Cougars' passing offense ranked second in the nation and first in the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

in 2017, with 366.8 yards per game, and it led the Pac-12 in touchdown passes.

UCLA

In 2018, Sage reunited with Chip Kelly when he was hired as the tight ends coach at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. In his inaugural season at UCLA, Sage mentored future NFL Draft pick Caleb Wilson, who led the nation's tight ends in receptions per game, receiving yards per game, and total receiving yards. His 965 receiving yards on the season were the most ever for a UCLA tight end. In 2019, Sage stayed on as tight ends coach and assumed responsibilities as the team's special teams coordinator following the departure of special teams coordinator Roy Manning.

Nevada (second stint)

Following the 2021 season, Sage joined Ken Wilson's inaugural staff at

as the offensive coordinator.

Personal life

Sage is married to Mandy Sage (née Jeskey), with whom he has a daughter, Piper, and a son, Casen.

References

External links

Nevada profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sage, Derek 1978 births Living people American football tight ends Cal State Northridge Matadors football players Nevada Wolf Pack football coaches New Hampshire Wildcats football coaches Toledo Rockets football coaches UCLA Bruins football coaches Washington State Cougars football coaches Wyoming Cowboys football coaches People from Sparks, Nevada Players of American football from Ventura County, California Coaches of American football from Nevada Players of American football from Nevada