Mizzou hires former Tennessee coach Derek Dooley as OC
Former Tennessee coach Derek Dooley is back in the SEC. Surprisingly.
Missouri announced Friday afternoon that Dooley would be the team’s next offensive coordinator. Dooley replaces Josh Heupel, who replaced Scott Frost as Central Florida’s head coach.
“I’m excited for our football program, Derek brings tremendous energy, knowledge and experience to our staff,” Mizzou coach Barry Odom said in a statement. “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.
Dooley’s record at Tennessee was less than stellar. At 4-19 in the conference and 15-21 overall in three seasons, he might have been more known for his orange pants than the games he won. After he was fired at Tennessee following the 2012 season, Dooley was succeeded by Butch Jones.
Dooley comes to Mizzou from the Dallas Cowboys, where he served as the team’s wide receivers coach for the past five seasons. Dooley hasn’t served as an offensive coordinator before, though he was an offensive positional coach throughout his career before he was hired as Louisiana Tech’s head coach before the 2007 season.
Mizzou plays at Tennessee on Nov. 17. Dooley’s reception should be interesting.
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
