Jan. 11, 2001

Tallahassee, FL - Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden announced Thursday the hiring of Presbyterian College head coach Daryl Dickey as the quarterbacks coach at Florida State University, filling one of the two positions left vacant when Mark Richt was named head coach at Georgia.

"I felt ever since Daryl left here in 1990 that if I ever lost Mark (Richt), Daryl Dickey would be the first person I would try to hire to replace him. He coached Peter Tom (Willis) here in 1989 and he broke nearly all of our passing records in that year. I had three people on a short list when the job came open and Daryl was at the top.

"Daryl's responsibility will be to coach the quarterbacks. He will not be the offensive coordinator. When I get back from coaching the Hula Bowl I hope to clear up the offensive coordinator's position."

Dickey, 39, just finished his fourth season at the helm of the Presbyterian football program. The 2000 season was a special one for the Blue Hose as they posted an 8-2 mark overall and a 6-1 record in South Atlantic Conference regular season play, good for second place. It marked the second time in the last three years that a Dickey-led Blue Hose team finished second in the league regular season and posted an eight-win season. The overall record in 2000 was the best for a Blue Hose squad since 1979 when PC finished the regular season ranked #1 in the NAIA and posted an 11-2 record. The 1999 & 2000 teams provided the best two-year span in football (15-6) for the Blue Hose since the 1978-79 seasons. Presbyterian finished 7-4 in 1999, 8-3 in 1998 and 5-6 in Dickey's first season with the Blue Hose (1997).

A graduate of Tennessee, Dickey quarterbacked the Volunteers to a 9-1-2 record during his senior season in the fall of 1985 and led the Southeastern Conference in passing efficiency. The team was unbeaten in the seven games that he started that season, and he was named Most Valuable Player in the 1986 Sugar Bowl when he led the Vols to a 35-7 win over Miami.

After a year of professional football with the San Diego Chargers in the NFL and the Memphis Showboats in the USFL, Dickey returned to Knoxville to serve as an assistant coach for the Volunteers. He was assistant quarterback coach at Tennessee before being named quarterback coach at Florida State. During his stint with the Seminoles, Dickey helped guide quarterback Peter Tom Willis to the seventh-best total offense ranking in the nation during the 1989 season as Willis passed for 3,124 yards and 20 touchdowns.

"Coach Dickey played a big part in my development as a quarterback," said Willis who is now the color analyst on the Seminole radio network. "I think that Coach Bowden made a great choice. Coach Dickey is a great guy and an excellent coach. Coach Bowden is the best coach in college football for a reason. He makes smart decisions with people."

Dickey served as quarterback coach at Kentucky from 1990-93 and then was promoted to offensive coordinator for the Wildcats, a position he held for another two years. Three of Dickey's quarterbacks at Kentucky - Pookie Jones, Freddie Maggard, and Brad Smith all finished their careers ranked among the top 15 in Wildcat history. Jones finished with the second-best career total offensive numbers in school history.

From March of 1995 until December of 1996, he served as offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for Georgia Southern University, a Division I-AA member of the Southern Conference.

Dickey is the son of former Tennessee and Florida head coach, and current Tennessee Director of Athletics, Doug Dickey. A native of Boulder, Colo., Dickey played football at Fairview High School. He is married to the former Kendall George and they have three children - Karis (9), Dallas James (6) and Drew (4).