 Dooley was named to the Dolphins’ coaching staff as the tight ends coach on January 10, 2005 by Nick Saban, for whom Dooley had previously worked at Louisiana State University.Dooley served on the staff for two years, but left the Dolphins' staff in 2006 when he was chosen as the new head football coach at Louisiana Tech.He was an assistant coach under Nick Saban for seven years, which included a BCS National Championship at LSU in 2003.