Daryl Raymond Dickey (born June 11, 1961) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

administrator, former coach, and former player. He served as the head football coach at the

University of West Georgia The University of West Georgia is a public university in Carrollton, Georgia, United States. The university offers a satellite campus in Newnan, Georgia, Newnan, Georgia, select classes at its Douglasville Center, and off-campus Museum Studies c ...

from 2008 through the 2013 season, and assumed the athletic director position in 2009. He served as the head football coach at

Presbyterian College Presbyterian College (PC) is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, South Carolina, United States. It was founded in 1880 and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). History Presbyterian College was founded in 1880 by Willia ...

from 1997 to 2000. Dickey played

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

, where he is remembered for coming off the bench during the 1985 season and leading the Vols to the SEC Championship and a 35–7 upset of

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

in the

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed only ...

Playing career

Dickey attended Fairview High School in

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most ...

. He initially joined the football team at the

in 1980, but left the team for a year after suffering an injury. He

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 1982. For most of his college career, Dickey was a backup to star quarterbacks

Alan Cockrell Atlee Alan Cockrell (born December 5, 1962) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and coach. Football career Twice named first-team all state, Cockrell led Joplin, Missouri's Parkwood High School Bears football team to a 31–3 ...

and

Tony Robinson Sir Anthony Robinson (born 15 August 1946) is an English actor, author, broadcaster, and political activist. He played Baldrick in the BBC television sitcom ''Blackadder'' and has presented many historical documentaries, including the Channel ...

. His lone start prior to the 1985 season came against

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

in 1984, when he completed 14 of 24 passes for 167 yards en route to a 24–24 tie. During the 1985 season, Robinson, at the time a candidate for the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

, suffered a season-ending knee injury in the fourth quarter of a close game against

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. Dickey, by that time a fifth-year senior, stepped in as his replacement, and the Vols held on for a 16–14 victory. After a 6–6 tie against

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

the following week, Dickey led the Vols to five consecutive victories, helping the team earn its first

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) championship since 1969. During this run, Dickey threw just one interception in 130 attempts, at one point throwing 106 consecutive passes without an interception.Tom Mattingly,
1985 Vols Earned Their Niche in History
" ''Knoxville News Sentinel'', November 27, 2010. Retrieved: March 15, 2013. As SEC champions, the Vols earned a berth in the

, played on New Year's Day in 1986. Their opponent, the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes, known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes, are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

, were ranked number two in the nation, having won ten consecutive games, and were in contention for a

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

. Completing 15 of 25 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown, Dickey led the Vols to a 35–7 upset of the Hurricanes, and was named Sugar Bowl MVP. Dickey played professional football for the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) and for the

Memphis Showboats The Memphis Showboats were an American football franchise in the United States Football League. They entered the league in its expansion in 1984 and made the 1985 playoffs, losing in the semifinal round to the Oakland Invaders. Perhaps the ...

in the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL).

Coaching career

Dickey began his coaching career at Tennessee as a graduate assistant coach and then as the assistant quarterback coach; he later became a volunteer assistant at

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

. Dickey left Florida State to become the quarterbacks coach at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

in 1990 and served in that position before becoming Kentucky's offensive coordinator in 1993 through 1994. In 1995, Dickey became offensive coordinator for

Georgia Southern University Georgia Southern University (informally known as Southern or Georgia Southern) is a public university, public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The largest campus is in Statesboro, Georgia, Statesboro, with ...

, a position he held through 1996 when he became head coach at

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. After four years as Presbyterian's head coach, in 2001 Dickey joined the staff of

Bobby Bowden Robert Cleckler Bowden (; November 8, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was an American college football coach. Bowden coached the Florida State Seminoles of Florida State University (FSU) from 1976 to 2009 and is considered one of the greatest college ...

as quarterbacks coach at Florida State. He became the head coach at the

Carrollton, Georgia Carrollton is a city in and the county seat of Carroll County, Georgia, United States. It is within western Georgia, about 45 miles (72 km) west of Atlanta near the Alabama state line, and is included in the Atlanta metropolitan area. It is ...

, in 2008. In 2009, he became school's

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches a ...

. He resigned as coach following the 2013 season to focus solely on his role as athletic director. Dickey stepped down from his role as athletic director in August 2020.

Family

Dickey is the son of

Doug Dickey Douglas Adair Dickey (born June 24, 1932) is an American former college football player and coach and college athletics administrator. Dickey is a South Dakota native who was raised in Florida and graduated from the University of Florida, where ...

, the former head football coach of the

and the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

. He is married to the former Kendall George from

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

. They have three children together: Karis, Dallas, and Daryl Andrew (Drew).

Head coaching record

References

External links

West Georgia profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickey, Daryl 1961 births Living people American football quarterbacks Florida State Seminoles football coaches Georgia Southern Eagles football coaches Kentucky Wildcats football coaches Memphis Showboats players Presbyterian Blue Hose football coaches San Diego Chargers players Tennessee Volunteers football coaches Tennessee Volunteers football players West Georgia Wolves athletic directors West Georgia Wolves football coaches Coaches of American football from Colorado Players of American football from Colorado Players of American football from Gainesville, Florida