Eric Dooley, who's turned around Prairie View A&M with a pair of winning seasons in the past three years, including a berth this past weekend in the Southwestern Athletic Conference's championship game opposite Deion Sanders' Jackson State squad, is poised to become the new head coach at Southern University sources share with FootballScoop.
A former long-time Southern assistant coach, Dooley is in line to replace Jason Rollins after Rollins ascended to the top spot earlier this year when previous head coach Dawson Odums left for Norfolk State.
Dooley has extremely deep ties across the SWAC footprint, with coaching stops at Southern, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Grambling State and most recently, Prairie View A&M – Dooley's first shot at running his own program.
The Panthers have responded with a pair of second-place finishes in the SWAC West, a third-place showing and this year's 6-1 league mark that helped them share the SWAC West title and earn the title-game berth. Sanders' Jackson State squad won, 27-10, to earn a trip to the Celebration Bowl Dec. 18 against South Carolina State.
In 2016, as Grambling's offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach, Dooley was named the AFCA Assistant Coach of the Year. The Tigers that season posted a 9-0 SWAC mark en route to an 11-1 season.
The 56-year-old Dooley helped Prairie View to the SWAC West crown in 2021 and a solid run the past four years behind an explosive offense that 17 times scored 32 or more points since 2018.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest coaching news.
Update> This deal is now official.