Huskies hire Rimington as interim AD

LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska reached into its glorious football past to find a temporary leader for its athletic department.

Dave Rimington, who became the most decorated offensive lineman in college football history in the early 1980s, was named interim athletic director on Tuesday as the school searches for a successor to Shawn Eichorst.

Rimington, 57, said he is not a candidate for the permanent position.

“We’re very, very pleased, obviously, that No. 50 is willing to come back in this interim time of leadership,” Chancellor Ronnie Green said at a news conference.

Rimington has been president of the Boomer Esiason Foundation, which raises money and awareness for cystic fibrosis research, since 1995. The foundation sponsors the Rimington Award, which is awarded to the nation’s top center.

Rimington was a firstteam All-American in 1981 and ‘82 and is the only player to win the Outland Trophy as the top interior lineman in consecutive years. He also won the Lombardi Award in 1982 as the best lineman or linebacker and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997.

A first-round draft choice of the Cincinnati Bengals in 1983, Rimington played five seasons with the Bengals and teamed with Esiason, who was the quarterback. Rimington also played two seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles before retiring in 1989.