Dickey became the head football coach at the University of Florida in 1970. In his nine seasons as the Florida coach, Dickey led the Gators to four bowl appearances, and an overall record of 58–43–2 (.573). Notably, Dickey gave the Gators' former Heisman-winning quarterback Steve Spurrier his first coaching job, as the Gators quarterbacks coach, in 1978. Dickey did not achieve the same level of success at Florida that he had at Tennessee, and he was replaced by Charley Pell after a 4–7 season in 1978.