Ellis Dwight Rainsberger Sr. (October 20, 1932 – July 17, 2021) was an American football and Canadian football player, coach, and scout. He served as the head football coach at Washburn University (1962–1964), Southern Illinois University Carbondale (1966), and

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

(1975–1977), compiling a career

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

record of 27–42–1. Rainsberger was the head coach of the USFL's

Pittsburgh Maulers Pittsburgh Maulers may refer to: * Pittsburgh Maulers (1984), United States Football League team * Pittsburgh Maulers (2022) The Pittsburgh Maulers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Maulers compet ...

for part of the 1984 season, tallying a mark of 1–7. He was most recently a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

with the Tennessee Titans (2000–2004) and Miami Dolphins (2005–2007) of the National Football League (NFL).

Playing career

Rainsberger was a three-year football letterman at

in the 1950s, as well as a two-time All-

Big Eight Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Associatio ...

selection. He was also a letterman for the Kansas State wrestling team.

Coaching career

Rainsberger served as the head football coach at NAIA-level Washburn University from 1962 to 1964, posting a record of 17–10 and winning a conference championship in 1964. His record at Washburn ranks him ninth in terms of total wins and tenth in terms of winning percentage. He became the 11th head football coach at Southern Illinois University Carbondale for one season in 1966, tallying a record of 4–5–1. Rainsberger returned to his alma mater to serve as head football coach at Kansas State from 1975 to 1977. He started his tenure there while, winning his first three games, but ultimately compiled a record of 6–27. Rainsberger left Kansas State with the program placed on probation for giving too many scholarships. Following his termination at Kansas State, Rainsberger served as

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...

for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League from 1978 to 1982. He spent the 1983 season as an assistant coach with the Denver Gold of the USFL. In 1984, he was interim head coach of the

for the second half of the season. The head coach he replaced,

Joe Pendry Joseph Pendry (born August 5, 1947) is a former American football coach. From 1971 until 2010, he was an assistant coach or offensive coordinator for multiple teams in both the collegiate and professional ranks. Between 2007 to 2010, Pendry s ...

, had been Rainsberger's offensive coordinator at Kansas State. During his long career, Rainsberger has also held a number of assistant coaching positions in the college ranks. He worked as an assistant coach at the Drake University (1959–1961), the University of Kansas (1965), the University of Illinois (1967–1972), the University of Wisconsin–Madison (1973–1974), and the University of Toledo (1989–1991).Fitzgerald, Tim. (2001) ''Wildcat Gridiron Guide: Past & Present Stories About K-State Football''

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rainsberger, Ellis 1932 births 2021 deaths American football offensive linemen Drake Bulldogs football coaches Illinois Fighting Illini football coaches Kansas Jayhawks football coaches Kansas State Wildcats football coaches Kansas State Wildcats football players Kansas State Wildcats wrestlers Miami Dolphins scouts Southern Illinois Salukis football coaches Saskatchewan Roughriders players Tennessee Titans scouts Toledo Rockets football coaches Toronto Argonauts coaches Washburn Ichabods football coaches Winnipeg Blue Bombers coaches Wisconsin Badgers football coaches United States Football League coaches NCAA sanctions