Jason Rimkus, an assistant coach at Bothell High School, has been named as the new head football coach at Interlake.

Rimkus, 26, will replace Sheldon Cross, who left after the winter break to take a graduate assistant position with the Washington State University football team.

“I couldn’t be more excited,” Rimkus said Thursday. “What really attracted me to Interlake was the people. Every time I stepped on that campus, someone made me smile. It felt like home.”

Rimkus was an All-KingCo defensive back at Bothell High School and as a senior led the Cougars to their first playoff appearance in nearly 90 years. After lettering twice at Pacific Lutheran University, Rimkus coached linebackers at Bothell before joining the staff at Western Washington University. He also coached at PLU before returning to coach at Bothell under coach Tom Bainter.

“Jason has enthusiasm and he has a plan,” said Interlake athletic director Art Kuehn. “Tom Bainter is a quality person and him saying Jason would do a great job cemented it.”

Rimkus said that without having met the players yet, it’s difficult to know what offensive and defensive schemes the team will run. Interlake had run a spread offense under Cross for the past three seasons.

“I can tell you one thing that will happen and that is that there will be 11 guys flying to the football on defense,” Rimkus said. “It’s hard to be too specific right now, but we will practice and play with a speed and an effort that is top in the league.”

It is the first head coaching job for Rimkus, who is currently a graduate student at the University of Washington.

“Today is one of the best days of my life,” he said. “I’m very fortunate as a first-year head coach to take the reigns of an established program. I’m excited to get started.”