Dinos de Saltillo (English: ''Saltillo Dinos'') are an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

team based in

Saltillo Saltillo () is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and is also the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. Mexico City, Monterrey, and Saltillo are all connected by a major railroad and highwa ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. The Dinos compete in the

Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional The Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (Professional American Football League), commonly known simply as LFA, is a professional american football spring league in Mexico, founded in 2016. Starting with four teams, the LFA has since expanded t ...

, the top American football league in Mexico. The team plays its home games at the Estadio Francisco I. Madero.

History

The team was founded on 28 September 2016, in resemblance of the semi-professional team with the same name that played in the Mexican Master Football League from 1995 to 1996 in the city of

. The team participated in the

for the first time in the 2017 season. Under head coach Guillermo Ruiz Burguete, the team finished with a 2–5 record, nevertheless, due to the competition system, Dinos still classified for playoffs and defeated Raptors for the North Division championship, classifying for the Tazón México in their first year in the league. The Dinos lost the Tazón México to the Mayas 18–24, played at the

Estadio Jesús Martínez "Palillo" The Estadio Jesús Martínez "Palillo" is a multi-use stadium located in the Magdalena Mixhuca Sports City in Mexico City. It is currently the home of the Mexicas of the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (LFA) and Guerreros de Xico of the ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

. A new coaching staff arrived to the team for the 2018 season, led by head coach Carlos Cabral. The Dinos had a 4–3 regular season record, qualifying to the playoffs for second consecutive season, this time as division leader. In a rematch of the 2017 game, Dinos lost 6–21 to Raptors in the Division Championship game.

Javier Adame era (2019–present)

In May 2018, Dinos signed Javier Adame as head coach, ahead of the 2019 season. Adame had previously worked as offensive line coordinator for the Dinos. From its inception until 2021, the Dinos played their home games at the Estadio Olímpico Francisco I. Madero. In 2022, due to an agreement between the Dinos and the baseball club

Saraperos de Saltillo The Saraperos de Saltillo (English: Saltillo Serape Wearers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. Their home ballpark is the Estadio de Béisbol Francisco I. Madero in Saltillo, Coahuila. They have won three championships (19 ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

, the team moved to the Estadio Francisco I. Madero. In the 2022 season, the Dinos had finished with the best record in the regular season. In the playoffs, Saltillo had faced Gallos Negros, who defeated them.

Rivals

Fundidores de Monterrey

The Fundidores and the Dinos are from northern Mexico and divisional rivals since the establishment of the divisional system in the LFA in 2017. Besides that, the rivalry dates back to the times of the Liga Nacional de Futbol Americano (National American Football League) in the late 90s, when both cities (

and Monterrey) had fierce matches between their two teams: the Dinosaurios (Dinosaurs) and the Cerveceros (Brewers). The rivalry goes beyond the gridiron, since both teams fight season after season to get the best college players from Nuevo León and Coahuila.

Raptors de Naucalpan

The Raptors de Naucalpan and the Dinos play each season the so-called Jurassic Duel (Spanish: Duelo Jurásico). Due to these teams being two of the strongest in the league in recent years, this rivalry is considered amongst LFA's most important rivalries.

Roster

Staff

Season-by-season

Awards

* North Division ** Champions (1): (2017)

References

{{Dinos de Saltillo 2016 establishments in Mexico American football teams established in 2016 Saltillo Sports teams in Coahuila Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional teams