Jan. 21, 2017
By Jeff Shearer
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. - Like his new boss, Chip Lindsey made his mark in high school football, made the jump to offensive coordinator in college, and then earned an opportunity to call plays at Auburn.
Coach Gus Malzahn hired Lindsey Saturday to be Auburn's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Lindsey spent 2016 coordinating the offense and coaching quarterbacks at Arizona State, where the Sun Devils averaged 33.3 points per game.
"I'm excited to welcome Chip Lindsey to the Auburn family," Malzahn said. "I have the utmost confidence in his ability to lead our offense and his strength in developing quarterbacks makes him the perfect fit. Chip is a man of integrity and character who will fit well within our staff. He has great knowledge and enthusiasm for the game and is a rising star in this profession."
Lindsey was an offensive analyst under Malzahn at Auburn in 2013, when the Tigers won the SEC Championship and played in the BCS National Championship Game.
From there, he was the offensive coordinator at Southern Miss in 2014-15. Lindsey's Golden Eagles offense set five school records in 2015, including points (528), which ranked No. 7 nationally. Lindsey developed USM quarterback Nick Mullens, the 2015 Conference USA Player of the Year.
"My family and I are very excited to return to Auburn and our home state," Lindsey said. "Both are very special places to us. I am looking forward to reuniting with Coach Malzahn and his staff. They are great coaches and great people. I look forward to being part of something special and helping Auburn win championships."
Lindsey replaces Rhett Lashlee, who left after four seasons to be the OC at Connecticut.
Lindsey played high school football at Bob Jones in Madison, Ala. He played college football at North Alabama, before transferring to Alabama as a student.
He was an assistant coach at five Alabama high schools: Florence, Springville, Sparkman, Deshler and Hoover. His first high school head coaching job was at Colbert Heights in 2005-06.
Lindsey was the head coach at Lassiter High School in Georgia for two seasons in 2008-09, coaching former Auburn tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen to a 1,000-receiving yard season in '08. Lindsey's quarterback at Lassiter, Hutson Mason, signed with Georgia after breaking state season records for passing yards (4,560) and touchdowns (54) in '09.
Lindsey received his first college opportunity coaching quarterbacks at Troy in 2010. Lindsey tutored Sun Belt Freshman of the Year Corey Robinson, helping the Trojans win a share of the conference title and a win in the New Orleans Bowl.
He returned to the Alabama high school ranks in 2011-12 as head coach at Spain Park, before joining Malzahn's staff in 2013.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @jeff_shearer