# Dale Lindsey

Phillip Dale Lindsey (born January 18, 1943) is an American football coach and former player. He was the head football coach at the University of San Diego. Lindsey has also worked as a coach in the National Football League (NFL), the Canadian Football League (CFL), and the United States Football League (USFL).

## Early life

Lindsey attended and played high school football at Bowling Green High School in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where he was an All-State player.

## College career

After high school, Lindsey signed with the University of Kentucky, where he was part of the infamous Thin Thirty team, but quit the team in the spring of his freshman year. He then transferred to Western Kentucky University, where he starred on the Hilltoppers's undefeated 1963 team that won the Tangerine Bowl.

## Professional career
### As a player

Lindsey was drafted in the seventh round of the 1965 NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns, where he played from 1965 to 1972. He then signed with the New Orleans Saints in 1973.

### As a coach

After his playing career, Lindsey was a coach for several different NFL teams, including the Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Redskins, Chicago Bears and the San Diego Chargers. He was also a coach for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League and the Boston Breakers and the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League.
In 1988, Lindsey joined Forrest Gregg at SMU. As the defensive coordinator, he helped to revitalize the historic SMU football program after the NCAA executed its one and only death penalty for a college football program. During the 1989 season, SMU's first season back after 1987, Lindsey's defense was instrumental in SMU's wins over UConn and North Texas.
He was terminated as the linebackers coach for the Washington Redskins on January 16, 2007. This was his second stint with Washington. He was one of several former NFL coordinators serving as a position coach on the Redskins' coach staff.
Lindsey was hired as the head coach for the University of San Diego in 2012, a position he held through the 2022 season. The school announced his retirement following the season, but Lindsey maintains he was fired. At the time of his departure he had the most wins of any head coach in school history and held the fourth highest winning percentage in FCS football.
Lindsey, now a resident of San Diego, lost his home in the wildfires of October 2007.

## Head coaching record
### College

| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | STATS$^#$ | FCS$^°$ |
| San Diego Toreros (Pioneer Football League) (2013–present) ||||||||
| 2013 | San Diego | 8–3 | 0–0 (7–1) | T–1st | | | |
| 2014 | San Diego | 9–3 | 7–1 | T–1st | L NCAA Division I First Round | | |
| 2015 | San Diego | 9–2 | 7–1 | T–1st | | | |
| 2016 | San Diego | 10–2 | 8–0 | 1st | L NCAA Division I Second Round | 19 | T–21 |
| 2017 | San Diego | 10–3 | 8–0 | 1st | L NCAA Division I Second Round | 23 | 25 |
| 2018 | San Diego | 9–3 | 8–0 | 1st | L NCAA Division I First Round | 25 | 20 |
| 2019 | San Diego | 9–3 | 8–0 | 1st | L NCAA Division I First Round | | |
| 2020–21 | San Diego | 4–2 | 4–2 | T–2nd | | | |
| 2021 | San Diego | 7–4 | 7–1 | T–1st | | | |
| 2022 | San Diego | 5–5 | 4–3 | 5th | | | |
| San Diego: | San Diego: | 80–30 | 61–8 (68–9) | | | | |
| Total: | Total: | 80–30 | | | | | |
| National championship  Conference title  Conference division title or championship game berth ||||||||
| $^#$Rankings from final STATS poll. $^°$Rankings from final FCS Coaches poll. ||||||||