CHIP LINDSEY

Chip Lindsey, one of the nation’s most innovative offensive minds, begins his third season as Troy’s head coach.

Lindsey, 46, has been the architect of some of the nation’s most electric offenses since moving to the collegiate ranks and his first two seasons with the Trojans were no exception. Additionally, he navigated the Trojans through the unconventional 2020 season as Troy was able to play 11 of its 12 scheduled games with the lone cancellation coming because of an opponent’s inability to play.

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 was also one of the best pass blocking units in the country as the group checked in third (at least 300 passing attempts) nationally per Pro Football Focus’ OL Pass Blocking Efficiency – Troy allowed just nine sacks, six quarterback hits, 45 hurries and 60 pressures in 494 passing situations.

Linebacker Carlton Martial 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 PFF.

In his first season, 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; the second most in program history and fourth most in Sun Belt Conference 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, just 331 days removed from an ACL injury, 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 (6) and 14th in touchdown passes (30). Among the Troy all-time greats to play the position, Barker finished third in touchdown passes and passing yards (3,628) and fourth in completions (299). Both Barker and receiver Kaylon Geiger were named to the All-Sun Belt First Team and Geiger was the league’s Newcomer of the Year.

On the defensive side of the football, 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 while true freshman safety Dell Pettus was named a Freshman All-American.

Both offseasons saw the positive momentum continue as Lindsey and his staff signed two of the top recruiting classes in program history. The 2020 class was the second-ranked class in the Sun Belt

and the third-highest rated class in school history according to 247Sports. Troy added 17 threestar players in the class including several ranked near the top 100 in their position nationally. The most-recent class featured the highest per-player average ranking and didn’t include a handful of Power Five conference transfers.

Lindsey’s first stint at Auburn as an offensive analyst resulted in the Tigers winning the SEC Championship and making a BCS National Championship run, while his most recent tenure on The Plains 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.

Prior to leaving for Kansas, 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; running back Kalen Ballage tied an NCAA record scoring eight touchdowns in a 68-55 win over Texas Tech. As offensive coordinator at Southern Miss from 2014-15, he developed the Conference USA 2015 Offensive Player of the Year and current San Francisco 49ers 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 in both marks in 2015.

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

Lindsey’s 2015 Golden Eagle offense ranked fifth in the nation in total touchdowns, 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 (Ala.) 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; he threw for 387 yards and four touchdowns in Troy’s New Orleans Bowl victory. 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 (200809) at Lassiter (Ga.) 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 touchdowns (54), and Phillip Lutzenkirchen, who would break tight end records at Auburn. 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 (Ala.) 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 (Ala.) High School, where he earned 2006 Coach of the Year honors from the Florence Times-Daily.

Lindsey 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, Ala., Lindsey graduated from Bob Jones High School, where he was a three-sport letterman.