Chip Lindsey a 'home run' hire for Auburn, says former colleague Rush Propst
Wesley Sinor | wsinor@al.com
Rush Propst has a vivid memory of the moment he realized Chip Lindsey was special.
It was 2007, and the Hoover Buccaneers were hosting Hueytown in the second round of the AHSAA Class 6A playoffs.
On just the second play of the game, Hoover lost starting quarterback Tyler Ray to a concussion. The backup was Propst's nephew Simon, who had little experience as a sophomore. Under the guidance of Lindsey, Hoover's offensive coordinator at the time, the young quarterback finished the night 17-of-30 for 262 yards and four total touchdowns.
"My nephew came in as a 10th grader and we beat a very good Hueytown team that night 44-42," Propst said. "That told me right quick that Chip knew what he was doing, because you don't throw a 10th grader into the second round of the playoffs.
"Chip and I have talked about it a lot since then. That's when you know a guy knows what he's doing. He's always, to me, had a knack for it."
Lindsey, who was Propst's offensive coordinator at Hoover in 2007, was hired as Auburn's newest offensive coordinator last Saturday.
"One thing you can say about Gus Malzahn is he hires very good people and winners," Propst said. "Chip's a winner and he's had to come up the hard way."
Auburn hires Lindsey as new O.C.
After more than nine days, Auburn has found its next offensive coordinator.
Lindsey has been on the fast track to success in recent years, having coached at the high school level for the majority of his career. He remains close with Propst, who believes he's always been able to handle the big stage.
Prior to his arrival at Hoover, Lindsey spent two seasons at Colbert Heights, which was in Class 2A in 2005 and in Class 3A in 2006. He had also previously coached at Florence, Deshler, Sparkman and Springville.
"When he first got to Hoover, I wasn't sure he could handle the 6A deal," Propst said. "Within two or three months I found out real quick. I came from a 1A school, so I related to those kind of guys who had to do a lot of different things. Chip's a guy who has worn a lot of hats and he's done an outstanding job. I'm awfully proud of him. I think this was a home run for Gus."
After his lone season at Hoover, Lindsey became the head coach at Lassiter High School in Georgia for two seasons. He even coached against Prospt, who took a job a Colquitt County in Moultrie, Ga., after resigning at Hoover in 2007 with five state championships on his resume.
Lindsey then served as quarterbacks coach at Troy in 2010, head coach at Spain Park in 2011 and 2012, an analyst at Auburn in 2013, offensive coordinator at Southern Miss in 2014 and 2015 and offensive coordinator at Arizona State last season.
While dealing with several quarterback and receiver injuries at ASU, Lindsey's offense still ranked 39th nationally with 259.3 passing yards per game and 11th in the red zone with a 91.5 percent scoring rate.
His numbers were particularly impressive at Southern Miss, where the Golden Eagles set five school records in 2015 -- offensive yards (6,758), passing yards (4,263), touchdowns (67), completions (312) and points (528). USM became the second school in FBS history to have a 4,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard receiver and two 1,000-yard rushers.
"He's a guy that's easy going and people trust him and kids like playing for him," Propst said of Lindsey. "If I was an Auburn player I'd be excited about the opportunity to have some new things. Any time you change coordinators you refresh the offense and you don't get away from the core values."
Since Nick Marshall left the Plains in 2014, Auburn has struggled in the passing attack with Sean White and Jeremy Johnson under center. The Tigers passed for 2,203 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2016. In 2015 they threw for 2,257 yards and just 11 touchdowns.
Malzahn's rushing attack has remained stellar over the years, and Propst believes Lindsey will bring a more balanced attack to Auburn next fall. There's also a new quarterback on campus, former Baylor star Jarrett Stidham, who appears poised to take over the starting job.
After he announced the hire, Malzahn said he's "retiring" his play-calling clipboard and giving Lindsey full freedom.
Malzahn hands offensive keys to Lindsey
Gus Malzahn said he is relinquishing control of Auburn's offense to new coordinator Chip Lindsey and that the rest of the Tigers' offensive coaching staff will remain in the same role as last season.
"There's no question Gus Malzahn knows how to run the football," Propst said. "I think the mixture of what Chip does in the passing game and what Gus does in the running game will be a great mixture of offense, I really do.
"I don't think any one person should have complete say on one side of the ball. You've got 10 guys coaching and you need input from everybody. People are going to have good ideas from time to time and you have to be smart enough to know what's good and what's not so good. Knowing Gus like I know Gus and knowing Chip for over 10 years, I just think it's a great marriage between two guys that I think trust one another."
As for recruiting, Prospt feels Lindsey will thrive now that he's back in his home state where he climbed up the coaching ranks. Lindsey has only served on college coaching staffs for five seasons, but has had his fair share of success luring quarterbacks.
Last season at Arizona State Lindsey helped land commitments from Ryan Kelley and Blake Barnett, who transferred from Oregon and Alabama, respectively. He also helped maintain a commitment from Dillon Sterling-Cole, who had previously pledged to play for ASU's previous offensive coordinator.
he is a mod that uses big bird as a board name...........
