The first addition to football Head Coach Thomas Hammock’s staff has been made official by NIU Athletics in an announcement Thursday morning, naming Eric Eidsness as offensive coordinator.

Eidsness was the offensive coordinator at South Dakota State from 2011-19, helping lead the Jackrabbits to seven Football Championship Subdivision playoff appearances and back-to-back semi finals appearances.

Hammock said he chose Eidsness to be his offensive coordinator based on his ability to scout players and having seen how Eidsness coached to his players’ strength.

“Last year, we were evaluating a tight end [from SDSU] and seeing the offense and the way [Eidsness] adapted it to the players he had led me to believe [he] is the type of offensive coordinator who will adapt to his players and put them in position to be successful,” Hammock said in a NIU Athletics Thursday news release.

Eidsness echoed Hammock’s mentality of wanting a player-driven system, saying the philosophies implemented at NIU will be based on the talent of his players.

“Wherever I’ve been it’s been a player-driven offense,” Eidsness said. “You want to utilize the talents of the players to put them in the best possible position to succeed.  We will lay the foundation [of our offense] and will take time to get to know the players [and] their abilities, and focus on getting the ball to our playmakers.”

The NIU position will be Eidsness’ first position with an Football Bowl Subdivison team. Eidsness has been a football coach for 27 years, including five years as head coach at Southwest Minnesota State.