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From the big chair to assistant job

Dooley not only had a famous father as a coach, he came from the Nick Saban tree; Dooley worked for Saban at LSU.

At the 2011 SEC spring meetings, I asked Saban why he hired Dooley at LSU. Saban said he thought Dooley was a bright, eager young coach with fresh ideas who was willing to learn. At the same time, Saban said he was reluctant to hire former head coaches because many of them were set in their ways about how to run a program.

Saban obviously has softened on that position: He recently had five former head coaches on his Alabama staff.