The Dallas Cowboys continued their offseason makeover on the coaching staff on Tuesday, hiring former Tennessee Volunteers head coach Derek Dooley to be their new wide receivers coach.
According to ESPNDallas.com, the team officially made the hire to replace Jimmy Robinson, who moved into a senior coaching consultant role with the Cowboys. Robinson has been with the team in the coaching role for the past two years.
Dooley was at Tennessee for three seasons before being fired in November. Dooley went just 15-21 during his tenure and had a losing record in each of his years at Tennessee, the first time since 1911 the Volunteers have finished below .500 three straight years, according to the Associated Press.
The Cowboys have made a number of changes to both the offensive and defensive coaching staffs, with Monte Kiffin coming in to replace defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, who was fired by the team. Dallas still has open slots for running backs and tight ends. Dooley has a connection to Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett from when they both worked for the Miami Dolphins from 2005 to 2006.
Dooley will work with wideouts Miles Austin, Dez Bryant, Kevin Ogletree and Dwayne Harris and try to get them to work better with quarterback Tony Romo. Bryant put up excellent statistics last season, but there were times that Romo was frustrated by the play of the receivers,
Bryant had hit best professional season for the Cowboys, setting career highs with 92 catches for 1,382 yards and 12 touchdowns. Austin had a down season due to injuries, making 66 catches for 943 yards and six touchdowns. The Cowboys use tight end Jason Witten a lot, which takes some plays away from the wideouts.
Dooley may have left the Volunteers at the right time (he was fired so it wasn't a choice, but still) as the team recently was reported to have a $200 million debt issue to deal with. Dooley still will collect a paycheck from Tennessee, including a $5 million buyout and $2 million more to his assistants.
Dooley was replaced at the school by Butch Jones, who in six years as a head coach went 50-27 while at Central Michigan and Cincinnati
Tennessee was a powerhouse in the SEC for many years, but has recently fallen on hard times. The Volunteers won championship in 1998 under Phillip Fulmer, but hasn't been close to that success since. Fulmer coached at the school from 1992 to 2008 and won 152 games. The team was unsuccessful in finding a head coach since Fulmer departed, having hired Lane Kiffin in 2009 before moving on to Dooley in 2010.
The team hasn't won an SEC conference title since winning the national championship in 1998 and the Volunteers haven't been bowl-eligible since 2010. The team was ranked 107th last season in scoring defense, allowing 35 points per game. The Volunteers opened with a 3-1 record, but then lost six of the next seven games.
Junior quarterback Tyler Bray was great despite Tennessee's struggles, passing for 3,612 yards and 34 touchdowns with 12 interceptions. Bray now ranks second behind Peyton Manning in both single-season passing yards and touchdowns and has one more year of eligibility of he decides to stay at the school rather than enter the 2013 NFL Draft.