Former Mizzou coach Derek Dooley files lawsuit against school in contract dispute
Former Missouri Tigers football coach Derek Dooley has filed a civil lawsuit in Boone County Circuit Court against the University of Missouri Board of Curators.
The lawsuit alleges the university has not paid Dooley liquidated damages in a sum equal to what his contract stipulated. Dooley was Mizzou’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2018-19 after being hired by former MU coach Barry Odom.
When Mizzou hired coach Eliah Drinkwitz in December 2019 to replace Odom, Dooley was not retained after the coaching change.
At the time of his hiring, Dooley signed a contract that made him the highest-paid assistant coach in program history at a $900,000 salary. His original contract ran for three seasons through Feb. 28, 2021. The contract included a one-year extension that kicked in Feb. 28, 2019, as long as Missouri didn’t provide any prior notice.
If MU terminated Dooley’s contract without cause, he would receive his base salary ($925,000 after a raise) payable in monthly installments until his contract expired, but not for more than 12 months (about $77,000 per month).
Dooley spent the 2020 football season coaching for the NFL’s New York Giants as a senior offensive assistant, reuniting with offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. Dooley spent time with the Dallas Cowboys from 2013-17, where Garrett was head coach, before Dooley was hired by Mizzou. Dooley was head coach at Tennessee from 2010-12.
A Mizzou athletic department spokesperson declined to comment. Online court records list Todd M. Johnson of Kansas City law firm Votava, Nantz & Johnson LLC as Dooley’s attorney. When reached, Johnson declined to comment.
This story was originally published January 12, 2021 at 7:22 PM.