Dell McGee appointed as Head Football Coach
Dell McGee, a Georgia native with 22 years of coaching experience, including two consecutive national titles as the run game coordinator and running backs coach for the Georgia Bulldogs, has been appointed as the fourth head football coach in Georgia State’s history by GSU President Dr. M. Brian Blake and Director of Athletics Charlie Cobb.
McGee will be formally introduced at a press conference scheduled for Monday morning at 10 a.m. in the University Club at Center Parc Stadium, with the event airing live on ESPN+.
“We are delighted to announce Coach Dell McGee as our head football coach,” Cobb expressed. “Coach McGee is an exceptional and genuine individual with a deep commitment to developing young men. His track record of success at both the high school and college levels gives me confidence that he will guide our football program to new heights. We extend a warm welcome to Linda and Dell at Georgia State University!”
McGee assumes leadership of a Georgia State program established in 2010, which has participated in six bowl games in the last nine years, clinching victory in four, including three within the last four seasons.
“Special thanks to President Blake, Athletic Director Charlie Cobb, and the entire search committee for entrusting me with the opportunity to serve as the head football coach at Georgia State University,” McGee remarked.
“Having spent over 20 years coaching in Georgia, the chance to mentor student-athletes here has always been a cherished aspiration. I am deeply grateful to Coach Smart and the University of Georgia for supporting my ambition of becoming a college head coach,” he added.
“Georgia State is poised for success as a premier institution in the nation’s greatest city. I am eager to lead this football program as we strive for championship contention.”
A native of Columbus, Ga., McGee has spent the majority of his coaching career in his home state. He spent the last eight seasons at Georgia, where his coaching and recruiting prowess contributed significantly to the Bulldogs’ remarkable achievements under Kirby Smart. McGee has been an integral part of Georgia’s program, which has amassed 94 victories in eight seasons, highlighted by consecutive College Football Playoff national championships in 2021 and 2022, as well as a berth in the 2017 CFP title game, eight bowl triumphs, two Southeastern Conference titles, and six SEC Eastern Division crowns.
Rivals.com honored McGee as the 2018 National Recruiter of the Year following the Bulldogs’ acquisition of the consensus No. 1-rated recruiting class. He played a crucial role in recruiting and nurturing Georgia’s 56 NFL draft picks from 2017-23, including 15 first-round selections and a record-breaking 25 players drafted in the last two years.
McGee joined Smart’s original Georgia staff in 2016 as running backs coach, a position he held throughout his tenure in Athens. He also served as assistant head coach in 2018, and in 2019, he was appointed as run game coordinator.
During his eight seasons at UGA, McGee mentored four 1,000-yard rushers: Nick Chubb in 2016-17; Sony Michel in 2017; D’Andre Swift in 2018-19; and Elijah Holyfield in 2018. Chubb and Michel amassed over 8,400 combined yards and 87 touchdowns. Chubb, Michel, Swift, James Cook, and Zamir White were all selected in the first four rounds of the NFL Draft.
Before joining Georgia, McGee served two seasons as the running backs coach at Georgia Southern (2014-15). In December 2015, he assumed the role of interim head coach and led the Eagles to victory in the GoDaddy Bowl.
In 2013, McGee worked as an analyst at Auburn, his alma mater, and was part of the staff that guided the Tigers to a berth in the 2013-14 BCS national championship game, one of McGee’s four appearances coaching in the national championship game. He was also part of an undefeated team as a player at Auburn, where he played a pivotal role in preserving the Tigers’ undefeated 1993 season with a critical interception against Alabama.
McGee began his coaching career in the high school ranks as an assistant coach at Georgia high schools Harris County (2002) and Greenville (2003-04) before assuming his first head coaching position at Carver-Columbus High School in 2005. He transformed the program into a perennial powerhouse, recording seven consecutive seasons with 10 or more wins from 2006-2012, highlighted by the 2007 Class AAA state title.
McGee attended Kendrick High School in Columbus, Ga., and then served as a two-year starter and four-year letterwinner at Auburn from 1992-95.
He was selected in the fifth round of the 1996 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals and spent time with the Cardinals and Detroit Lions over three NFL seasons. Additionally, he played in NFL Europe, the XFL, and the Arena Football League during his seven-year professional career.
Dell and his wife Linda have one son, Austin, who is a high school senior at Athens Academy and a member of Georgia State’s 2023-24 recruiting class after signing with the Panthers in December.
