Chip Lindsey

Lassiter High School
Marietta, Georgia

by Amy Minnick
photography by Robby’s Photography

An Alabama ‘gridiron boy’, Chip Lindsey has found a home in the red clay of Georgia as Lassiter High’s head football coach. His down-home approach to working with his players makes him easy to talk to and fun to be around. But it’s his admiration for the impact coaches have on the lives of their players, along with his love of football, that inspired him to become a high school coach, and Lassiter gets to reap the benefits.

Lindsey spent his early childhood in Sheffield, Alabama. His family moved to Madison, Alabama, in 1987 where his father, Ricky Lindsey, coached a local high school football team. Ricky was steeped in football as an All-American college player turned Cincinnati Bengals pro. When he left the NFL and started his public school teaching and coaching career, his son would often join him on the on the sidelines. The two of them quickly found a common bond in athletics.

Lindsey played football for Bob Jones High School until he graduated in 1992. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in History and English from the University of Alabama in 1996 and took his first teaching position at Springville High School in Alabama. Like some ‘newbie’ football coaches, Lindsey got his start as a head baseball coach but his passion and knowledge landed him an assistant football coaching position as well.

After one year at Springville, Lindsey left to pursue different teaching and coaching positions at various Alabama high schools. Along the way, he acquired the experience that developed his football coaching skills.

In 2005, he accepted a head coaching position at Colbert Heights High School. The 3A school located in Tuscumbia was a perfect match for Lindsey. “I started as head football coach and moved up to Athletic Director at Colbert Heights. I inherited a team that was two and eight,’ recalls Lindsey. “We worked with that team and won the first playoff game in the school’s history in 2007. It was incredible because my dad was head coach there in the 70’s, so it was like going home.”

It was at this point in his coaching career when Lindsey realized being part of football program at a big school was what he really wanted.  “My dream was to be a head coach at a big school, so I took an offensive coordinator position at a nationally known high school program to open some doors,” says Lindsey.

Lindsey definitely had the right prescription for obtaining his goal. With stout determination, he joined the Hoover High Buccaneers as offensive coordinator. Joining the nationally-ranked Alabama football program gave Lindsey the credibility he needed to make his dream happen. He coached under Rush Propst and was motivated to learn as much as he could as fast as he could. The Class 6A Buccaneers won the state championship five out of the last seven years, including four in a row from 2002-2005. They’re also well known as the featured football team on the 2005 MTV show Two-A-Days.  “My time at Hoover was great,” says Lindsey. “I learned so much from Rush Propst. He taught me how to think big and organize. He also taught me how to make a football program exciting. You have to create a buzz about your team to get the kids out of the halls and out on the fields.”

In less than a year at Hoover, Lindsey had an offer he couldn’t refuse. Lassiter High School in Marietta, Georgia, a  Class 5A football program, offered him the head coaching position he’d been wanting. He and his wife, Cecila, and their four young children made the out-of-state move to take a chance on the Trojans.  It was a big move for his family but it was in the right direction. “My wife is a great coach’s wife and we knew Georgia schools, especially in Cobb County, have a lot going for them,” he says.

Immediately, Lindsey began to revive the Trojan football program. Having never won a state playoff game in its history, Lassiter’s program needed a lift and Lindsey was the man for the job. He hired a staff that shared his vision and he changed the play strategy from an option running team to a spread throwing team. The result was an 8-4 season in 2008. But perhaps the biggest change Lindsey made was to create excitement within the school about his new football program.

“Today’s high school football program looks very different from high school football 20 years ago,” explains Lindsey. “In the 70’s, football was, for the most part, the only game in town. Kids didn’t have other sports to divert their time and attention. If you wanted to play a fall sport, football was pretty much your only choice. Today I have a lot of kids who also play lacrosse, and some who play soccer. As a football coach you have to make your program exciting and fun and be flexible when those kids have other demands on their time, so we make it work.”

Lindsey’s head coach at Hoover High, Rush Propst, knew firsthand about competing for the kids’ time. Hoover’s last four quarterbacks also played baseball, so Lindsey watched and learned how to make a program appealing and flexible to create a buzz with the kids. He knew if you wanted to add players to your roster, you have to entice the kids to try it out − something coaches in the 70’s didn’t worry about.

Lindsey did just that and went from 67 players to 113. He found a solid candidate for quarterback in Hutson Mason and created an offense that adapts to the talents of the players.

Rebuilding the program also included building relationships with his players. Lindsey knows that to get the guys to give it their best, they have to trust the coaching staff.  And with so many different personalities on the team, the staff works hard at connecting with each player. “We have a passion for our kids and want to make football fun regardless of whether they’re the best or worst player,” explains Lindsey. “We build relationships with our guys and we are very approachable. We have cell phones and they can contact us anytime.”

The 2009 season looks extremely promising for Coach Lindsey and the Lassiter Trojans. Although the team lost 25 seniors, Lindsey played his kids two deep at each position and rotated them, preparing all of his players with experience.

So for now, the Associated Press 5A Coach of the Year for 2008 will concentrate on building his brand of football and developing his players to be the best they can be. The upcoming season won’t be without its challenges, but it will provide another opportunity for Coach Lindsey and his staff to connect and mentor 113 very lucky young men. •