Ryan Lindley, San Diego State’s all-time leading passer, has been named the football team’s offensive coordinator, replacing associate head coach Jeff Horton who has retired.
Lindley, who joined the staff in early October, will continue to coach the SDSU quarterbacks. He was brought into bolster the Aztecs’ sagging offense in 2022 and was instrumental in the development of Jalen Mayden, who had played safety the first five games of the season before switching to quarterback.
“I came back home because of the respect I have for Coach Hoke and this program. I look forward to continuing to build on the success that has been had here on the Mesa,” Lindley sad. “I know we need to continue to move forward, develop and improve on this side of the ball, and I am excited to collaborate with this staff to make it happen.”
“Ryan helped us tremendously upon joining our staff midseason. I was impressed with his growth as a football coach throughout the year, his intellect and football IQ, and his quarterback development,” Hoke said. “Ryan is someone that has a bright future in this profession and we look forward to watching him progress in his new role.”
Lindley was a four-year starter at San Diego State from 2008-11, where he set program passing records in several categories, including yards (12,690), touchdowns (90) and completions (961).
He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL Draft and played in nine games at Arizona, starting six times. He later played in one game for Indianapolis during the 2015 season.
Following a stint at SDSU as a graduate assistant in 2018, Lindley worked in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns as the running backs coach then became the quarterbacks coach in 2019.
The next year, he returned to the college ranks, becoming an offensive analyst at Utah, working with former Aztec offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig. He spent the past two seasons at Mississippi State as a defensive analyst with former SDSU defensive coordinator Zach Arnett.
Horton, meanwhile, spent the last 12 seasons with at San Diego State, part of a 43-year career that included 35 seasons in the college ranks and seven seasons as a head coach.
“I’ve always said I wanted my retirement to be my decision,” Horton said. “In this profession 99% of the time you don’t get to leave on your terms and I’m getting to do that.”
“San Diego State owes Jeff a debt of gratitude for everything that he’s done here,” head coach Brady Hoke said.
After serving as the team’s offensive coordinator from 2015-19, Horton took over the post once again in early October with the firing of Jeff Hecklinski as the team struggled.
Horton coached his starting running backs to all-Mountain West honors in 11 of his 12 years at SDSU. Players who won the honors include Super Bowl champion Ronnie Hillman (2011), the NCAA’s all-time leading rusher Donnel Pumphrey (2014-16) and San Diego State’s single-season leading rusher Rashaad Penny (2017).
The native of Arlington, Texas came to San Diego after spending the final five games of the 2010 campaign as interim head coach at Minnesota.