Ex-Vandal Will Coach UI Defense

New University of Idaho football coach Tom Cable has filled his coaching staff with the hiring of Ed Rifilato as defensive coordinator.

The two were teammates at Idaho in the early 1980s, playing for coach Dennis Erickson. Cable was an offensive lineman and Rifilato, a 1985 graduate, a linebacker.

Rifilato was the interim head coach at NCAA Division II New Mexico Highlands last season, leading the team to a 7-4 record after a rocky start. To open the season, New Mexico Highlands lost 73-7 to New Mexico State, 54-7 to Eastern New Mexico and 14-7 to Western New Mexico.

The Cowboys then won seven of their last eight games and captured the school’s first conference title in 20 years. Rifilato had the interim label removed after the season.

“I enjoyed being at Idaho and loved the people to death,” Rifilato said. “I’m just happy for this opportunity.”

Rifilato initially was hesitant about returning to Moscow, where he was Idaho’s defensive player of the year in 1984.

“He didn’t think it would work, with family and things,” Cable said. “But we talked more and more and we’ve worked on football together for a long time. He’s just like he was as a player - he finds a way to get it done.”

Rifilato hopes to install an attacking, blitzing defense. He was an assistant at New Mexico Highlands for three years before his promotion to head coach. He coached at San Bernardino Valley (1993) and Chaffey (1994-95) junior colleges in California, and was a high school coach for seven years.

Rifilato, 36, is married to the former Kelley Neely, an ex-UI volleyball setter who remains the school’s single-season and career leader in aces. She also ranks first in career assists with 4,744 and second in single-season assists. The Rifilatos have two daughters.