Dinos de Saltillo (English: ''Saltillo Dinos'') are 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 ...

team based in

Saltillo Saltillo () is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and is also the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. Mexico City, Monterrey, and Saltillo are all connected by a major railroad and high ...

, Mexico. The Dinos compete in the

Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional The Professional American Football League ( or LFA), is a semi-professional American football league in Mexico, founded in 2016. Starting with four teams, the LFA has since expanded to eleven members as of 2022. The regular season runs in the sp ...

, the top American football league in Mexico. The team plays its home games at the Estadio Francisco I. Madero.

History

The team was founded on 28 September 2016, in resemblance of the semi-professional team with the same name that played in the Mexican Master Football League from 1995 to 1996 in the city of

. The team participated in the

for the first time in the 2017 season. Under head coach Guillermo Ruiz Burguete, the team finished with a 2–5 record, nevertheless, due to the competition system, Dinos still classified for playoffs and defeated Raptors for the North Division championship, classifying for the Tazón México in their first year in the league. The Dinos lost the Tazón México to the

Mayas Maya () are an ethnolinguistic group of Indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica. The ancient Maya civilization was formed by members of this group, and today's Maya are generally descended from people who lived within that historical region. Today ...

18–24, played at the Estadio Jesús Martínez "Palillo" in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. A new coaching staff arrived to the team for the 2018 season, led by head coach Carlos Cabral. The Dinos had a 4–3 regular season record, qualifying to the playoffs for second consecutive season, this time as division leader. In a rematch of the 2017 game, Dinos lost 6–21 to Raptors in the Division Championship game.

Javier Adame era (2019–present)

In May 2018, Dinos signed Javier Adame as head coach, ahead of the 2019 season. Adame had previously worked as offensive line coordinator for the Dinos. From its inception until 2021, the Dinos played their home games at the

Estadio Olímpico Francisco I. Madero es:Estadio is the spanish language word for Stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered s ...

. In 2022, due to an agreement between the Dinos and the baseball club Saraperos de Saltillo of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

, the team moved to the Estadio Francisco I. Madero. In the 2022 season, the Dinos had finished with the best record in the regular season. In the playoffs, Saltillo had faced Gallos Negros, who defeated them.

Rivals

Fundidores de Monterrey

The Fundidores and the Dinos are from northern Mexico and divisional rivals since the establishment of the divisional system in the LFA in 2017. Besides that, the rivalry dates back to the times of the Liga Nacional de Futbol Americano (National American Football League) in the late 90s, when both cities (

and

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

) had fierce matches between their two teams: the Dinosaurios (Dinosaurs) and the Cerveceros (Brewers). The rivalry goes beyond the gridiron, since both teams fight season after season to get the best college players from

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

and

Coahuila Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza, is one of the 31 states of Mexico. The largest city and State Capital is the city of Saltillo; the second largest is Torreón and the thi ...

Raptors de Naucalpan

The Raptors de Naucalpan and the Dinos play each season the so-called Jurassic Duel (Spanish: Duelo Jurásico). Due to these teams being two of the strongest in the league in recent years, this rivalry is considered amongst LFA's most important rivalries.

Roster

Staff

Season-by-season

Awards

* North Division ** Champions (1): (2017)

References

{{Dinos de Saltillo 2016 establishments in Mexico American football teams established in 2016 Saltillo Sports clubs and teams in Coahuila Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional teams