[5] Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sutherland moved from Canada to southern California at age nine and graduated from Inglewood High School in 1933.
[6] After graduating from USC in 1937, Sutherland stayed in the Los Angeles area and became a football and track coach at Santa Monica High School.
[7] He was its head football coach from 1941 to 1952, with the exception of three years that he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II;[8] his record at SMHS was 79–13–3 (.847).
[2] After a 3–6–1 season, he voluntarily stepped down in December with a year remaining on his contract,[1][2] and then owned several automobile dealerships in Spokane.
[4][13][14] Following an extended illness, Sutherland died in 1980 at age 65 at his home in Hayden Lake, Idaho,[4][15][16][17] and was buried in Coeur d'Alene.