In 2012, Dickey was hired to be Offensive Coordinator and running backs couch at the University of Memphis. Shortly after his arrival, then head coach Justin Fuente sent him to Deltona, Florida to recruit an unheralded, lighty recruited prep quarterback named Paxton Lynch. Dickey had long ago earned a reputation for finding diamonds in the rough as a recruiter, and he reported back to Fuente that Memphis should sign Lynch. In 2016, Lynch was the 26th pick in the First Round of the NFL Draft.