COLUMBIA - Missouri has hired former Dallas Cowboys' wide receivers coach Derek Dooley as its offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, the program announced Friday afternoon.
This is Dooley's first time coaching as either an offensive coordinator or a quarterbacks coach at the college or professional level. Prior to the Cowboys, he was Tennessee head coach from 2010-12.
In a press release, Missouri head coach Barry Odom said, "I'm excited for our football program, Derek brings tremendous energy, knowledge and experience to our staff. He will do a great job of mentoring our student-athletes in all areas of their lives, and I know he will add great benefit and loyalty to our staff room with his experiences he's gained over his career. His football knowledge and offensive beliefs are in line with what will make Mizzou very successful. We have a great foundation to build on and along with the rest of the offensive staff we will put our kids in position to be their very best. I'm very happy to welcome the Dooley family to our organization!"
"I am excited to be a Mizzou Tiger and look forward to helping Coach Odom carry out his vision for the program. I am grateful for this opportunity, and am ready to get to Columbia and go to work," Dooley said in the release.
Details of the contract, which has not yet been completed, were not immediately available for release.
Dooley, 49, is the son of legendary Georgia coach Vince Dooley. He played wide receiver at Virginia from 1987-1990 and began his coaching career at Georgia as a graduate assistant in 1996. He coached wide receivers at SMU from 1997-99 and tight ends at LSU from 2000-02 before moving to running backs, special teams and assistant head coach in Baton Rouge from 2003-04 under Saban.
Dooley followed Saban to the Miami Dolphins in 2005-06 to coach tight ends. He then took his first head-coaching position in 2007 at Louisiana Tech, lasting three seasons with the Bulldogs before leaving for Tennessee.
Dooley's three-year tenure as the head coach at Tennessee was rocky at best, and he was fired before he could finish the 2012 season. His compiled a 15-21 record in Knoxville, 4-19 in the Southeastern Conference, and made one bowl game, a 30-27 loss to North Carolina in the Music City Bowl, in his first season.
He took over a threadbare roster in 2010 and turned in one of the best offensive seasons in Tennessee history in 2012, but the Vols' defense allowed nearly 36 points per game and 43 points per game in conference play for the seven SEC games he coached that year.
The knock on Dooley at Tennessee was his hiring a bad defensive coordinator and his preoccupation with the outside appearance of the football program after taking on the responsibilities of head coach and athletic director at his previous school. That shouldn't be a problem at Missouri, where his only responsibilities will be the offense and quarterbacks, though as previously noted this will be his first time in charge of either position.
In Dallas, Dooley coached Dez Bryant, Cole Beasley and Terrence Williams through five up-and-down seasons, the most successful of which was the Cowboys' 2016 season. With rookie quarterback Dak Prescott, Dallas went 13-3, won the NFC East and took the NFC's No. 1 seed into the playoffs, losing to the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round.
His offense is decidedly pro-style, which on paper would put Drew Lock - should the Tigers' quarterback elect to return for his senior season - under center. Lock predominantly took shotgun snaps in former offensive coordinator Josh Heupel's system.