Prior to joining the Georgia program, he was the offensive coordinator for the Texas A&M Aggies football team.
His father, Jim Dickey, was a successful college and Texas high school coach for over 40 years.
In 2006, despite being fired by the University of North Texas, Mattress Mack, a major donor requested that school officials name the new football practice facility in honor of him.
Voted conference player of the year in 1977[2] and was a 1977 Shrine Bowl Participant[3] Dickey was the starting quarterback at Kansas State for four seasons from 1979 to 1982.
Dickey remains only player in Kansas State history to lead the school in passing yards and total offense for four consecutive seasons.
Dickey served as the offensive graduate assistant under Jackie Sherrill at Texas A&M in 1985, where he was part of a staff that led the Aggies to their first Southwest Conference title since 1975.
The Aggies defeated Auburn, which boasted Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson in the Cotton Bowl to finish the season 10–2.
[7] In 1986, Dickey was hired by Charlie Bailey at the University of Memphis to serve as tight ends coach.
During the game, Dickey pupil Wayne Pryor outrushed Crimson Tide Heisman Trophy candidate and future Denver Broncos star Bobby Humphrey.
And, finally, it was a memorable win because Dickey's dad, Jim, was Florida's defensive coordinator at the time.
[12] In early 1989, Memphis' football program became embroiled in a scandal when it was revealed that a player had been paid by a booster for a summer job.
The Bulldogs had an up and down year, finishing 5–6, but beating LSU, 34–22, to end a five-season losing streak to the Tigers.
[16] On November 10, 1990, Mississippi State traveled to Memphis, where Dickey faced the coach, Chuck Stobart, who had fired him less than a year prior.
[20] The 1993 Tiger tight end group coached by Dickey also included freshman David LaFleur, who later became an All-American and was a 1st Round pick in the 1997 NFL Draft.
[21] Dickey rejoined Charlie Bailey as offensive coordinator at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) in 1994 and stayed with the Miners through the 1996 season.
In Dickey's 1994 and 1995 offenses, Singleton finished third and second respectively in the Western Athletic Conference in total yards from scrimmage.
He was named 2nd Team All-WAC following the 1995 season, invited to the Blue-Grey Game, and signed a free agent contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1996.
In his fourth season at the helm, Dickey's Mean Green won a share of their first Sun Belt Conference title and played in the first of their four consecutive New Orleans Bowl appearances.
[30] During his tenure, Darrell Dickey led the UNT to high-profile wins over Big 12 schools Texas Tech (1999) and Baylor (2003).
Dickey had long ago earned a reputation for finding diamonds in the rough as a recruiter,[31][32][33] and he reported back to Fuente that Memphis should sign Lynch.
In January 2017, Dickey was elevated to offensive coordinator by Memphis head coach Mike Norvell.