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LOGAN, Utah - Former North Texas head coach Darrell Dickey has been named as the offensive coordinator at Utah State University it was announced by Aggie head football coach Brent Guy on Tuesday.
Dickey, spent the previous nine seasons as the head coach at North Texas, where he guided the Mean Green to four consecutive conference championships between 2001-2004.
"Darrell brings a lot of Division I experience to the staff," Guy said. "I have known him since our playing days in the old Big Eight Conference when he was the quarterback at Kansas State and I was at Oklahoma State.
"His success at North Texas speaks for itself," Guy added. "He has a great reputation in the state of Texas and we have already had good interaction with the high school coaches down there, so he will be a great asset for us in recruiting the state of Texas."
Dickey built a 42-64 overall record, annually playing one of the nation's more difficult non-conference schedules, as well as a 34-22 conference record. During North Texas' four-year conference reign, the Mean Green were 25-1 in league play. The Mean Green were 2-9 in 2005 and 3-9 this past season and he was relieved of his duties.
"Darrell knows our situation, because it is the exact situation he had at North Texas," Guy said. "They played a difficult non-conference schedule and then got into conference play."
USU offensive coordinator Mike Santiago resigned after five games last season and was replaced by wide receiver coach Greg Stevens, who served as the interim coordinator the rest of the year.
The offensive-minded Dickey has served as an offensive coordinator at Memphis (1988-89), UTEP (1994-96) and SMU (1997). He has also coached at Texas A&M, Mississippi State, and LSU.
Under his direction North Texas landed 70 players on all-Sun Belt Conference teams, including 39 first-team selections. Dickey guided the Mean Green to its first bowl win in 57 years as well as its first nine-win season in 26 years.
North Texas produced back-to-back NCAA rushing leaders as Patrick Cobbs led the nation in rushing in 2003 and the next year Jamario Thomas stepped in and repeated the feat.
"I am very excited to join the USU family," Dickey said. "I have talked to a number of people that have coached at Utah State and lived in Cache Valley and they were unanimous about what a great place it is to live and to work.
"Having coached against the Aggies in the past, I know the potential of the program and after lengthy discussions with coach Guy, I strongly believe in how he is going about building the program," Dickey said. "I am looking forward to being a part of Utah State football."
The 47-year old Dickey was a quarterback at Kansas State, where he led the Wildcats to the 1982 Independence Bowl, the school's first ever bowl game.
This past season, Dickey suffered a heart attack on Oct. 13 and missed one game. He had his gal bladder removed, was diagnosed with diabetes, and suffered the heart attack all within nine months.
He is the son of Jim Dickey, Sr., who was a collegiate head coach at Kansas State, Florida and Southern Mississippi. Dickey and his wife Tory have a daughter, Meredith.
Dickey's Coaching Experience 1985 Texas A&M Graduate Assistant 1986-89 Memphis Off. Coord./RB/TE 1990 Mississippi State QB/RB 1991-93 LSU Tight Ends 1994-96 UTEP Asst. HC/Off. Coord. 1997 SMU Off. Coord. 1998-2006 North Texas Head Coach
Dickey's Year-By-Year Head Coaching Record Year All Conf. 1998 3-8 3-2 / 2nd 1999 2-9 1-5 / 7th 2000 3-8 1-4 / t4th 2001 5-7 5-1 / t1st 2002 8-5 6-0 / 1st 2003 9-4 7-0 / 1st 2004 7-5 7-0 / 1st 2005 2-9 2-5 / 8th 2006 3-9 2-5 / 7th Totals 42-64 34-22
Bowl Games 2001 - New Orleans Bowl (lost to Colorado State) 2002 - New Orleans Bowl (best Cincinnati) 2003 - New Orleans Bowl (lost to Memphis) 2004 - New Orleans Bowl (lost to Southern Mississippi)
