GOHeels.com – CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (GOHEELS.com) - Bill Dooley, the head football coach at Virginia Tech from 1978-86, 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:
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"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."
While at Tech, he posted a record of 63-38-1.
Before heading to Tech, Dooley led the UNC Tar Heels for 11 seasons, the longest tenure of any head football coach in UNC history, and posted a record of 69-53-2, which set the school record for career wins.
Dooley came to Chapel Hill at age 33 from the University of Georgia, where he was the chief offensive assistant for three seasons to his brother, Vince, who went on to a Hall of Fame career with the Bulldogs.
He also was head coach at Virginia Tech from 1978-86 where he posted a record of 63-38-1, and at Wake Forest from 1987-92. He led the Deacons to a 29-36-2 mark in six seasons in Winston-Salem. 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.