UCF Knights Adds Former Troy Head Coach Chip Lindsey as Offensive Coordinator, Quarterback Coach

BREVARD COUNTY • ORLANDO, FLORIDA – Chip Lindsey, a member of Gus Malzahn’s Auburn football staff in 2013 when the Tigers played in the Bowl Championship Series title game and the Auburn offensive coordinator and quarterback coach in 2017 when Auburn won the Southeastern Conference West Division crown, has rejoined Malzahn as UCF’s offensive coordinator and quarterback coach.

“We’re thrilled to have Chip be part of our UCF family,” said Malzahn.

“He was with me in 2013 when we went to the national championship game and again in 2017 when we won the SEC West. He’s a great quarterback developer, and he’ll be a great addition to our staff.”

“I’m extremely excited to come to UCF after watching that program from afar,” said Lindsey.

“I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to reconnect with Coach Malzahn and work with him again–he changed the way college football is played with the things he has done. I’m looking forward to building on UCF ‘s big bowl win.”

Lindsey, one of the nation’s most innovative offensive minds, spent the last three years as head coach at Troy.

He has been the architect of some of the nation’s most electric offenses since moving to the collegiate ranks and his seasons with the Trojans were no exception.

In 2021 he coached a pair of honorable mention All-Americans (Pro Football Network) in first-team all-Sun Belt Conference picks Carlton Martial (he made 24 more tackles than any other Sun Belt player) and bandit Javon Solomon (he led the Sun Belt in tackles for loss and was second in sacks).

In 2020, Troy ranked 21st nationally and second in the Sun Belt averaging 290.2 passing yards per game while sophomore quarterback Gunnar Watson led the league with 237.9 passing yards per game and by completing 70.1 percent of his pass attempts, a mark that ranked seventh nationally and third all-time in Troy history.

The Trojan offensive line ranked third nationally per Pro Football Focus pass-blocking efficiency ratings–allowing nine sacks, six quarterback hits, 45 hurries, and 60 pressures.

Martial in 2020 tied for first nationally with 113 tackles, which included a 21-tackle game against Coastal Carolina. The Trojans improved 63 spots nationally in scoring defense from 2019 to 2020 and 38 spots in total defense.

Troy led the country with four defensive scores–and the Trojans finished the season ranked as the nation’s No. 15 defense per Pro Football Focus.

In Lindsey’s first season at Troy in 2019, the Trojans topped the 500-yard mark in total offense on six different occasions to tie the program’s DI record and scored 35-plus points eight times (second-most in program history and fourth-most in Sun Belt history).

The Trojans finished ninth nationally in passing offense (313.2), 25th in scoring offense (33.8), and 18th in total offense (456.3).

He also guided quarterback Kaleb Barker to one of the best seasons in Troy history. Barker finished third nationally in completions per game (24.92), fifth in yards per game (302.3), fourth in 300-yard passing games (six), and 14th in touchdown passes (30).

On the defensive side, Martial became just the 12th player in the last 20 years to finish a season with 100 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, and three interceptions on his way to All-America honors.

Lindsey and his staff signed two of the top recruiting classes in program history. The 2020 class was ranked second in the Sun Belt and the third-highest rated class in school history (247Sports). The 2021 class featured the highest per-player average ranking in Troy history.

Lindsey’s first stint at Auburn as an offensive analyst resulted in the Tigers winning the 2013 SEC Championship and making a BCS National Championship run, while his most recent tenure saw Auburn set school records and post one of the best offensive seasons in SEC history.

In 2017, Auburn became just the eighth team in SEC history and the first in Auburn history to rush and pass for 3,000 yards in a season.

The Tigers also ranked 26th nationally in total offense and set an Auburn record scoring 327 points in SEC play. Auburn won the SEC West Division after knocking off a pair of top-ranked teams in Georgia and Alabama over a three-week period.

All-SEC quarterback Jarrett Stidham, the second Auburn player ever to throw for 3,000 yards in a season, led the SEC and ranked ninth nationally in completion percentage.

Running back Kerryon Johnson was SEC Offensive Player of the Year, and Ryan Davis set an Auburn receiving record with 84 catches. Lindsey’s final season at Auburn saw the Tigers defeat Pac-12 Champion Washington and nationally-ranked Texas A&M.

Lindsey returned to Auburn from Arizona State, where he served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2016. The Sun Devils started 5-1 (before losing three quarterbacks to injury) while running back Kalen Ballage tied an NCAA record scoring eight TDs in a 68-55 win over Texas Tech.

As offensive coordinator at Southern Miss from 2014-15, he developed Conference USA 2015 Offensive Player of the Year and current Cleveland Browns quarterback Nick Mullens, who ranked second in the league in passing yards (4,145) and TD passes (36)–and ranked in the top eight in the nation with both marks in 2015.

The Southern Miss offense broke five single-season school records in 2015: completions (312), passing yards (4,263), total offense yards (6,758), TDs (67), and points (528), as the Golden Eagles recorded nine wins, a Conference USA West title and a berth in the Heart of Dallas Bowl against Washington.

Lindsey’s 2015 Golden Eagle offense ranked fifth in the nation in total TDs, seventh in total points, eighth in total passing yards and completions, and 12th in points per game and passing yards per game.

The 2015 Golden Eagles tallied more than 4,200 passing yards and just under 2,500 rushing yards.

The national leader with 102 explosive plays, Southern Miss was just the second school in FBS history with a 4,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard receiver, and two 1,000-yard rushers.

Prior to his first stint at Auburn, from 2011-12, Lindsey served as head coach at Spain Park (Alabama) High School, leading the school to its first 6A regional championship.

Lindsey served as quarterbacks coach at Troy in 2010, following a long and distinguished career as a prep coach (1997-2009) in football and baseball.

At Troy, he coached the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year Corey Robinson and helped guide the Trojans to their fifth consecutive Sun Belt Championship.

Robinson set a school record for completions (321) that season while his 3,726 passing yards rank as the second most in Troy history. The Trojans totaled the second-most passing touchdowns (33) and most completions (340) in a season in school history.

A two-time coach of the year honoree (2008-09) at Lassiter (Georgia) High School, he guided the development of Parade All-American Hutson Mason, who broke every single-season state passing record in 2009, including passing yards (4,560) and TDs (54).

The Trojans went 12-1 and won a regional championship in 2009–and Lindsey received state coach-of-the-year honors from the Atlanta Falcons and the Cobb County Touchdown Club.

The Associated Press, Marietta Daily Journal, and Cobb County Touchdown Club named him the 2008 Georgia Coach of the Year.

Lindsey served as offensive coordinator at Hoover (Alabama) High School in 2007 as the team finished 10-2 and advanced to the third round of the state playoffs.

Lindsey’s first experience as a head coach came from 2005-06 at Colbert Heights (Alabama) High School, where he earned 2006 Coach of the Year honors from the Florence Times-Daily.

He spent the 1997-2004 seasons as an assistant coach, including Florence, Deshler, Sparkman, and Springville High Schools in Alabama.

Lindsey played football at the University of North Alabama before transferring as a student to Alabama, where he received his bachelor’s degree in history and English in 1997.

He earned a master’s in educational leadership from the University of Phoenix in 2005. A native of Madison, Alabama, Lindsey graduated from Bob Jones High School, where he was a three-sport letterman. He and his wife Cecily have four children: Claire, Caroline, Cooper and Conner.

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