LINCOLN — Last time we saw George Darlington, the former longtime Nebraska assistant coach was hanging out at the Huskers' spring football practice.
He watched as NU practiced in southern California before the Holiday Bowl. The white-haired West Virginia native had recently lost his job of two years as defensive coordinator at the University of San Diego.
But clearly, he wasn't finished with coaching.
Darlington, 71, has resurfaced at Lincoln's North Star High School. He joined coach Mark Waller's staff recently, agreeing to coach the secondary and special teams for the Navigators, who finished 7-3 last year after a first-round playoff loss to Elkhorn.
"I just don't relish sitting around," Darlington said.
In other words, retirement is not an option. Darlington, in addition to the coaching position, landed a job at ScoreTables by Design, selling advertisements for athletic signage to offset costs for school districts.
He plans to reprise Football Facts for Women, a two-hour class that meets weekly seven times in the fall at Southeast Community College. Darlington taught it for two decades before he was dismissed in 2002 after 30 years on the defensive staffs of Tom Osborne and Frank Solich.
Since, Darlington has made coaching stops at Marshall (2003-05), Louisiana Tech (2006), Southeast Missouri State (2007) and San Diego (2008-09) while also serving as defensive coordinator for Team USA, a group of traveling college all-stars.
Three years ago, he and his wife, Susan, moved back to Lincoln to live near their three children and nine grandchildren.
Darlington rented apartments where he coached and considered moving again if a college coaching offer arrived.
Instead, he connected with Waller, the former head coach at Holdrege, Neb., who knows Darlington's son, David, and heard the veteran coach wanted to stay in the business.
"The knowledge that he has, the wealth of experience and all the big games that he's coached in at the Division I level, it's just exciting to have that on our staff," Waller said. "He's been here about a month, but we've already been able to sit down and watch film, talk scheme. He's got a lot of stories. It's fun."
Darlington, some 55 years older than many of his players, still relates well, Waller said.
"The kids are really excited," Waller said. "But to be honest, a lot of them don't remember when Coach Darlington was at Nebraska. Their parents do, so they're able to go home and talk about it. I think the parents were just as excited as the players."
Darlington sent 30 NU defenders to the NFL and coached seven All-Americans. Former star safety Mike Minter, who retired from the Carolina Panthers after 10 years in 2006, plans to visit North Star next month to meet Waller's team while in Lincoln to help with an NU camp.
Minter's nephew, in fact, will attend North Star as a freshman next fall, along with the sons of ex-Husker Derek Brown and NU secondary coach Marvin Sanders. The son of former NU defensive end Dwayne Harris also attends the high school.
"It brings back memories," said Darlington, who recruited the star I-back Brown to Lincoln from California.
Darlington said the North Star job represents a "full circle" for him. He started in coaching in 1962 at Johnson (N.J.) Regional High School.
So far, Darlington has only begun to get introduced to the Navigators, helping with drills and physical testing. Waller's team convenes in early June for a camp before several players travel to Northwest Missouri State for an event.
Darlington is set to make the weekend trip.
"We'll be busy, and Coach Darlington is excited," Waller said. "He wants to be around."
To Darlington, coaching is coaching. He said he expects the concepts to remain similar from college to high school. More patience is required at this level, though, he said.
"You have some kids who are really driven to succeed," Darlington said. "And then there are others who like the idea of playing football, but they're not sure. That's true in college, too. A lot of kids are self-starters and focused, but others who need more pushing.
"I just think I can contribute, so I'm real excited about the opportunity."
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