Texas A&M parts ways with OC Darrell Dickey: What prompted the move?

Texas A&M parted ways with offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Darrell Dickey on Monday, Dickey confirmed to The Athletic. Here’s what you need to know:

Dickey joined the Aggies in 2018 as part of coach Jimbo Fisher’s first Texas A&M coaching staff.
He spent his four seasons coaching quarterbacks but moved to tight ends coach just before the 2022 season as part of an offensive staff reshuffle prompted by Fisher.
Though he held the offensive coordinator title, Dickey was not the play caller for the A&M offense. Fisher called the plays, just as he has his entire head coaching career.
Dickey’s current A&M contract runs through the 2023 season, paying him $850,000 per year. The Aggies owe him his remaining base salary through the remainder of the term, which ends Jan. 31, 2024.

Backstory

Dickey, a Galveston, Texas, native and former North Texas head coach, joined Fisher’s staff after a six-season stint as Memphis’ offensive coordinator, where the Tigers had a top-10 offense in multiple statistical categories in 2017. Though Fisher ran A&M’s offense, Dickey was considered a valuable voice on staff because of more than three decades worth of college football coaching experience.

What prompted the move?

The Aggies had their best offensive season in 2020, when they went 9-1 led by fourth-year starting quarterback Kellen Mond, but the A&M offense was inconsistent in 2021 and became one of the worst in the SEC in 2022, prompting calls from critics for Fisher to make significant changes. Making changes to the offensive staff is part of Fisher’s plan and this is the first step in that process. The Aggies finished 13th among 14 SEC teams this season in scoring (22.8 points per game), 13th in passer rating, 11th in yards per pass attempt, 12th in offensive yards per game and ninth in yards per play.