Lindsey, 69, wants to be USD's head coach for some time

Stopgap, temporary, bridge, whatever term you might choose, that?s not how Dale Lindsey views his assignment as USD?s new head football coach.

Lindsey turns 70 next month, and upon being introduced Saturday as the Toreros? new coach, he sounded like a man planning to diagram X?s and O?s at Alcala Park into the 2020s.

?I am going to do this as long as it is acceptable to the athletic department, the administration and that we achieve success,? Lindsey said. ?I do not want to be here just as a stopgap. I want to be here as long as I can.?

Lindsey served as the Toreros? defensive coordinator this past season. He was a Chargers assistant for seven seasons and coached at USD one other year, 2008.

His hiring is fascinating on two fronts. For one, there?s the age factor. Secondly, after coaching collegiately seven seasons and at the pro level another 28, this is his first head coaching job beyond high school.

Lindsey didn?t exactly lobby USD Athletic Director Ky Snyder for the job. When former Toreros coach Ron Caragher informed Snyder he was leaving for San Jose State earlier this month, the first coach Snyder sought out was Lindsey.

Not as a head coaching candidate but to serve as a liaison to the players and rest of the staff.

?I didn?t think Ky would be interested in me,? said Lindsey. ?Some people might view my age as a deterrent. Well, I have a lot more energy than people in their 50s. And I like working.?

Nor did Lindsey view his early conversations with Snyder as a chance to sell his candidacy.

?Things just fell into place,? Lindsey said. ?It wasn?t like I ran up to his office and crawled across the carpet (saying), ?Can I be your head coach?? I don?t operate like that, and he would have kicked me out of his office.?

Said Snyder, ?After he let us know down the line that he was interested in the job ? there were parts of Dale I didn?t know about that quite frankly blew my socks off.?

One was Lindsey?s belief in the USD athletic philosophy, where the phrase student-athlete is taken seriously.

?We want the next generation of CEOs, corporate presidents and leaders of innovative industry,? said Lindsey.

USD, which does not offer football scholarships, plays in the Football Championship Subdivision. The Toreros shared the Pioneer Football League title the past two seasons, compiling a combined 17-5 record.

Next season, the PFL champion automatically advances to the postseason.

USD returns 14 starters, eight on offense, led by quarterback Mason Mills, who threw for 3,106 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Lindsey?s first task will be to finalize his coaching staff. Caragher said he has taken three former USD assistants to San Jose State, offensive line coach Hank Fraley, safeties coach Joe Staab and wide receivers coach Greg Lewis.

Staab served as the Toreros? recruiting coordinator.

Source: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/dec/29/lindsey-69-wants-be-usds-head-coach-some-time/

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