Former Badgers, NFL player hired as head football coach at St. John's Northwestern Military Academy
Curt Hogg
St. John's Northwestern Military Academy went big with its latest hire.
The school announced Wednesday that it has hired former Wisconsin Badgers and NFL player Glenn Derby as its new head football coach.
Playing at UW from 1983 to 1987, Derby was an all-conference selection and three-year starter at tackle, guard and long snapper.
An Oconomowoc High graduate, Derby was drafted in 1988 by the New Orleans Saints in the eighth round, where he played three years. Derby's last year of professional football came in 1991, when he signed as a free agent with the Packers.
The job marks Derby's first as a head coach, but he brings plenty of years of experience in the area.
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After serving as the UW-Platteville offensive line coach beginning in 1992, Derby held the same position at Kettle Moraine from 1994-2004. After taking a decade off from coaching, he returned to coach the offensive line at Muskego in 2014, Oconomowoc in 2015 and Kettle Moraine in 2016.
Last year, Derby was the freshman head coach at Arrowhead.
After playing for 17 years, he has now spent nearly 20 as a coach.
"Glenn brings a lot of experience at many different levels," Lancers athletic director Mike Fink said. "He has had the opportunity to coach and work with youth players up to NFL players."
Derby will look to lead the Lancers, who went winless one year ago, to their first winning season since 2012.