The Steelers have hired veteran NFL personnel man Rick Reiprish to join their player personnel department.

Reiprish, a native of Shamokin, Pa., was the New Orleans Saints director of college scouting for 11 years until he was released in a front-office shakeup this year. Previously, he worked as the Jacksonville Jaguars director of player personnel from 1994 to 2002 and has over 30 years of experience in player personnel.

Reiprish will replace Ron Hughes, who retired this month as the Steelers’ senior assistant for college scouting after serving 10 as their college scouting coordinator.

Reiprish, who began his career as a scout with the BLESTO scouting combine in 1979, also scouted for the Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks.

“We’ve lost a lot of experience over the past three years,” general manager Kevin Colbert said, noting the death of Bill Nunn and the retirements of Hughes and Joe Greene from the Steelers’ personnel department. “It’s nice to have a guy like Rick available. He has a lot of experience.”

First Published: May 16, 2015, 4:57 p.m.
Updated: May 16, 2015, 6:31 p.m.