Tennessee hires Dooley

Louisiana Tech head coach Derek Dooley has been hired as coach at Tennessee.
Reports that had been coming from numerous media sources this afternoon about the hiring were confirmed by UT in late afternoon. Tennessee will have a press conference to introduce Dooley at a 9 tonight at the Peyton Manning Locker Room Complex at Neyland Stadium, UT confirmed.
Dooley replaces Lane Kiffin who left Tennessee after one season to coach at Southern Cal.
Earlier in the day, the coaching search had come down to two candidates -- Dooley, the son of former Georgia coach Vince Dooley -- and Kippy Brown, who has been serving as interim coach at UT since Lane Kiffin left on Tuesday night.
Brown was interviewed by athletic director Mike Hamilton in the early afternoon. Then Hamilton and prominent booster Jim Haslam took off in the Pilot Corp. plane for Ruston, La., where Louisiana Tech is located. The plane was photographed at the Ruston airport in late afternoon.
A prominent Louisiana Tech booster was quoted by the Monroe (La.) News Star as saying the hire was a done deal.
"He's gone," the newspaper quoted Steve Davison, the booster, as saying. "Now we have to make another good hire. Coach Dooley was a good hire for us, and I'm confident we'll make another one."
During a Wednesday press conference, Hamilton had stressed the importance of moving on the hire with the Feb. 3 signing day for high school players nearly upon the Vols.
In addition to Dooley and Brown, coaches believed to be under consideration in the coaching search begun with Kiffin's abrupt resignation, include Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, Texas Christian coach Gary Patterson, Air Force coach Troy Calhoun, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham and Duke coach David Cutcliffe.
Dooley was 17-20 in three seasons at La. Tech, a record somewhat deceiving because of the school's habit of playing some of the country's top teams in non-conference games to boost revenue.
Dooley has a law degree from Georgia. He completed his undergraduate degree at Virginia where he played receiver.