IRVING, Texas –After a week of speculation, it's now clear former University of Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley will join the Cowboys staff after all.
Dooley was officially named the new receivers coach of the Cowboys on Monday, two weeks after interviewing with head coach Jason Garrett in Mobile, Ala., during the week of the Senior Bowl. Dooley will take over for Jimmy Robinson, who will become the team's new senior consultant after spending the past two seasons as wide receivers coach.
It appeared likely by the weekend of the Senior Bowl that Dooley would be the new receivers coach in Dallas, but much of those talks seemed to dissipate as conflicting reports emerged regarding his potential hiring.
It seems the Cowboys were still in the midst of conducting interviews at that point, but they've now officially settled on and announced the hiring of Dooley, who was a position coach alongside Garrett for two years with the Dolphins. Dooley was the tight ends coach while Garrett was the quarterbacks coach in Miami for the 2005 and 2006 seasons.
The majority of Cowboys staff members watched the Senior Bowl practices at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, but most of Garrett's time was spent interviewing potential position coaches in Alabama. The Cowboys still need to fill positions for running backs coach and tight ends coach, and it's feasible a new offensive line coach could emerge as well, if the Cowboys decide to make Bill Callahan the play-caller next season.
Dooley's hiring marks the first new position coach with a direct coaching history with Garrett and the first oficial move for an offensive coach this offseason. [embedded_ad] The Cowboys brought on defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, defensive line coach Rod Marinelli and special teams coach Rich Bisaccia this offseason, all of whom worked together previously with the Buccaneers.
Though the majority of Dooley's career occurred in the collegiate ranks, he did have the two years of professional coaching experience in Miami with Garrett. Prior to that, Dooley spent three seasons as SMU's wide receivers coach and five seasons in different roles with LSU. He was on the Tigers' staff while Marcus Spears and Nate Livings played at the school.
After his time in Miami, Dooley then coached three seasons apiece at Louisiana Tech and, most recently, with the Volunteers, where he replaced Kiffin's son, Lane. Dooley compiled a 32-41 total head coaching record between the two schools.
The Cowboys staff will now include four members who've served as head coaches at the collegiate or professional level in Dooley, Kiffin, Marinelli and Callahan.
