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Adam Shefter is reporting via Twitter that the Cowboys are about to sign a new wide receivers coach:
Dallas Cowboys are set to hire former Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley as their WR coach.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 27, 2013
The move means that Assistant HC/WR coach Jimmy Robinson will not be wide receivers coach for the Cowboys anymore. There had been speculation that Robinson was looking to perhaps retire, but the Cowboys said they were looking to keep him on in some capacity.
Dooley interviewed earlier this week with Garrett at the Senior Bowl. Like Garrett, Dooley is from the Nick Saban coaching tree, and both know each other from their time together on the coaching staff of the Dolphins from 2005-2006, when Garrett was the QB coach and Dooley the tight ends coach in Miami.
After his stay in Miami, Dooley joined Louisiana Tech, transforming a program that had been a perennial loser into a competitive program. At his last stop in Tennessee, Dooley walked into a difficult situation after Lane Kiffin, son of new Cowboys DC Monte Kiffin, left the program in shambles. Dooley took on a tough job, and didn't quite manage to turn around the Vols in his three-year tenure as a head coach. In Dallas, Dooley gets the chance to work his way back up the coaching ladder.
Derek Dooley Coaching Experience:
2010-12: Head Coach, Tennessee
2008-10: HC/Athletics Director, Louisiana Tech
2007: Head Coach, Louisiana Tech
2005-06: Tight Ends Coach, Miami Dolphins
2003-04: Running Backs / Special Teams Coach, LSU
2000-02: Tight Ends Coach, LSU
1997-99: Wide Receivers Coach, SMU
1996: Graduate Assistant, Georgia
For all those concerned that the coaching staff was getting either too old or too Tampa-centric, Dooley is 44 years old and does not have any connections to Jon Gruden. And if such a distinction needs to be made, Dooley is what one could consider a Garrett hire. And while we're taking distinctions, it might be worth remembering that Kiffin and Marinelli were in Tampa long before Gruden ever got there.
Dooley is known as a diligent worker and respected for his great work ethic and drive, things that should make him fit in well in Dallas.
The Cowboys now have three potential coaching vacancies left. Running backs coach is expected to be filled with Sam Gash. Offensive line coach could be a vacancy if Bill Callahan gives that up as to assume OC duties. It is expected that Wes Phillips could be promoted to that position or to the other remaining vacany, tight ends coach.