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College Football 2018: Biggest question facing every Top 25 team in spring practice

By Nicholas Ian Allen

NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 01: Jalen Hurts (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 01: Jalen Hurts (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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GREEN BAY, WI – JANUARY 11: Dez Bryant #88 of the Dallas Cowboys listens to receivers coach Derek Dooley before the NFC Divisional Playoff game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on January 11, 2015 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers defeated the Cowboys 26-21. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
GREEN BAY, WI – JANUARY 11: Dez Bryant #88 of the Dallas Cowboys listens to receivers coach Derek Dooley before the NFC Divisional Playoff game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on January 11, 2015 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers defeated the Cowboys 26-21. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Can Derek Dooley keep Missouri’s offense humming?

Barry Odom’s seat warmed up considerably during the first half of the 2017 season as his Missouri Tigers lost five straight games against FBS opponents. However, the Mizzou offense caught fire in October, helping Odom solidify his standing as a head coach, and making offensive coordinator Josh Heupel a head coaching candidate himself. Heupel was tabbed to replace Scott Frost at UCF, and Odom made the curious decision to hire former Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley to run his offense.

Dooley, who had recently served as wide receivers coach for the Dallas Cowboys, has experience coaching several offensive positions, and was twice a head coach, but he has never called plays and has never coached quarterbacks – the dual role he’ll have with the Tigers. The son of legendary Georgia coach Vince Dooley spent seven years as an assistant for Nick Saban at LSU and with the Miami Dolphins, coaching tight ends, running backs and special teams, before he landed the job as head coach and athletic director at Louisiana Tech. After limited success with the Bulldogs, Dooley was hired to replace Lane Kiffin at Tennessee.

Given how spectacularly he failed in Knoxville, and Dooley’s lack of experience in the OC role, there is concern Odom made a mistake handing over the offense to Dooley. After all, the unit may have saved his job. The Tigers led the SEC in total offense (502.2 yards per game), yards per okay (7.13) and scoring offense (37.5 points per game) a year ago, and welcome back the conference’s leading passer, Drew Lock, as well as a handful of proven playmakers and five starters from what was one of the best and most underrated offensive lines in the country.

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