STORY ON CRAIG SAUER FROM ST. CLOUD TIMES

MINNEAPOLIS (updated 7/20) -- Former National Football League player and Minnesota native Craig Sauer will be spending the 2009 football season as a member of the Augsburg College coaching staff, as part of a coaching internship program for former NFL players.

Sauer is taking part in a coaching internship program sponsored by the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) and the NCAA. He will serve as a defensive and special teams assistant coach on the Auggie staff, according to head coach Frank Haege.

Last season, eight NCAA Division II/III schools nationwide were selected for the NFLPA/NCAA Coaching Internship Program out of approximately 60 nominees, according to a story on the NFLPA website. This year, more than 70 Division II/III schools applied for 12 available internships, according to Leslie Satchell, manager of player development for the NFLPA. Created in 2006, the NFLPA/NCAA Coaching Internship Program has had nearly 20 individuals participate in its first three years. Former Minnesota Vikings Antonio Banks and Byron Chamberlain have also participated in the internship program, Satchell said.

The program is sponsored by the NFLPA, the NFL, the NCAA and the American Football Coaches Association, and is designed to give former players the chance to build coaching experience for future pro football opportunities. The internship lasts for one season.

"Craig Sauer brings a vast wealth of knowledge to our program from his playing experience in Division I and the NFL," Haege said. "He will be a great asset for us on defense, special teams and recruiting. We are very excited to have someone with his background in our program working with our young men."

A native of Sartell, Minn., Sauer played five seasons in the NFL as a linebacker, four with the Atlanta Falcons (1996-99) and one with the Minnesota Vikings (2000). He was a member of the Falcons' 1998 NFC title and Super Bowl team.

"I am extremely excited to start my college coaching career at Augsburg under coach Frank Haege," Sauer said. "I will have the opportunity not only to coach, but learn about recruiting and the business side of football."

In his collegiate career at the University of Minnesota (1992-95), Sauer was named the team's Most Valuable Player in 1995, and was named the team's Defensive MVP in both 1994 and 1995. Sauer was selected in the sixth round of the 1996 NFL Draft (188th selection) by the Atlanta Falcons.