The Sports Xchange

The Pittsburgh Steelers hired Rick Reiprish to the team’s personnel department as senior assistant for college scouting, the team announced Saturday.

Reiprish will replace Ron Hughes, who retired this month.

Reiprish brings 35 years of personnel experience to the Steelers, most recently serving as the director of college scouting for the New Orleans Saints for 11 years (2004-14). Prior to joining the Saints, Reiprish spent eight years with the Jacksonville Jaguars (1994-2002), first as the team’s director of college scouting before being elevated to director of player personnel in 1998.

Reiprish began his NFL career as a southeast scout with BLESTO, a scouting combine, from 1979-82 before joining the Kansas City Chiefs as a personnel scout for two years. He spent 10 years with the Seattle Seahawks (1984-94), serving as an area scout before being promoted to eastern scout supervisor in 1989.

“We’ve lost a lot of experience over the past three years,” general manager Kevin Colbert said. “It’s nice to have a guy like Rick available. He has a lot of experience.”