Former Football Coach Bill Dooley Passes Away
8/9/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
August 9, 2016
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeFB)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Bill Dooley, the head football coach at Wake Forest from 1987-92, passed away Tuesday morning in Wilmington, N.C. He was 82 years old and died of natural causes.
The Dooley family issued the following statement:
"Coach Bill Dooley passed away this morning. He will be missed by his family and friends and will be remembered by all of us whose lives he has touched so deeply."
Dooley led the Demon Deacons for six seasons, posting a record of 29-36-2 overall and 14-29 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. He took Wake Forest to the 1992 Independence Bowl and a 39-35 win over Oregon. Dooley was the ACC Coach of the Year for Wake Forest in 1987 and in 1992. Dooley and Paul Amen (1956, 1959) are the only Demon Deacon football coaches to win multiple ACC Coach of the Year awards.
Two Wake Forest players earned All-America honors under Dooley. Defensive back George Coghill was a third team Associated Press All-American in 1992 after earning first team All-ACC honors in 1991 and 1992. Offensive tackle Ben Coleman was a first team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association in 1992. He earned first team All-ACC honors and won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy that season.
Dooley coached 13 first team All-ACC picks at Wake Forest including Wake Forest Hall of Famers Ricky Proehl, John Henry Mills and Coghill.
Dooley was the head coach at North Carolina for 11 years and also spent eight seasons at Virginia Tech from 1978-86.
Combined, Dooley was a head coach for 26 years and won 161 games.
Born in 1934 in Mobile, Ala., Dooley earned All-SEC honors as a lineman in 1955 at Mississippi State.
He is survived by his wife, Marie Dooley; four sons – Jim Dooley of Chapel Hill; Billy Dooley of Atlanta; Sean Dooley and his wife, Courtney; and Ashton Dooley, both of Wilmington; and two granddaughters – Hayden and Caroline Dooley, also of Wilmington.