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San Diego coach Dale Lindsey ‘did not f***ing retire’ like school claimed: ‘I was shown the door’

Dale Lindsey
Dale Lindsey, seen here in 2014, said he was ousted from San Diego on Tuesday after a decade leading the program. (AP/Lido Vizzutti, File)

Dale Lindsey is out at San Diego.

The exact terminology of his departure, however, is apparently up for debate.

San Diego announced Tuesday that the 80-year-old football coach was retiring after a decade with the program. San Diego athletic director Bill McGillis used that phrase specifically.

But Wednesday, Lindsey painted a very different picture.

“I did not f***ing retire,” he told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “I was shown the door and would like to coach. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.”

The longtime NFL assistant spent the past decade leading the Toreros. He went 80-30 overall, had a 68-9 record in Pioneer League play, won seven PFL titles and reached the FCS Playoffs five times.

Tuesday, McGillis and San Diego announced that Lindsey — who has the fourth-best winning percentage in FCS history — was retiring.

"Coach Lindsey is leaving an incredible legacy at the University of San Diego," McGillis said in a statement Tuesday. "Beyond the extraordinary level of championship success our program has achieved under his leadership, Coach Lindsey established a standard of excellence for the young men in our program, and the lessons they've learned from him will last a lifetime. The numbers speak for themselves, but they don't even begin to tell the story of the impact he's made at USD.

“His emphasis on — and commitment to — the value of a college education has been the true hallmark of his leadership from day one. He will retire from USD as one of the greatest head coaches in our university's history and one of the elite head coaches in college football. Tremendous man. Tremendous coach. Tremendous leader. Coach Lindsey led our program with great integrity, and he has built a model program in every sense of the word. His presence and leadership have been a gift to our scholar-athletes, alumni, coaches and community. We have been blessed."

McGillis was asked repeatedly Wednesday about Lindsey’s belief that he was pushed out of the program, but he declined to answer. Lindsey said he wasn’t given a reason for his ouster, either.

“He is absolutely a fantastic head coach. He has demonstrated great integrity, values that match the University of San Diego, a commitment to education and mentoring his players in a way that will benefit them for the rest of their lives,” McGillis said, via the Union-Tribune. “And we look forward in the future to honoring him and celebrating a remarkable legacy.”

Regardless, Lindsey’s time at San Diego has come to an end.

But that doesn’t mean he’s ready to retire altogether.

"I wasn't planning on retiring," Lindsey said, via the Union-Tribune. "I know chronologically how old I am. But I don't function like an 80-year-old man. If you just sit at home, you become a vegetable — and vegetables die sooner or later. I've seen too many coaches work their ass off for 40 years, think they're going to go off to some golden parachute retirement. Then they're dead in six months. I don't want to be one, nor do I intend to be one."