Bill Dooley Expected to Be Named Football Coach at Wake Forest

Bill Dooley, who resigned as head coach at Virginia Tech after the 1986 season, is expected to be named the head football coach at Wake Forest today, The News and Observer of Raleigh reported in today’s editions.

The school has called a news conference for this morning in Winston-Salem.

Gene Hooks, Wake Forest’s athletic director, declined earlier to reveal the names of the primary candidates to replace Al Groh, who announced Friday he was leaving after he and Hooks were unable to agree on future contractual terms.

The Greensboro News and Record reported Tuesday that speculation centered on three candidates--Dooley, former UCLA aide Homer Smith and Sparky Woods.

Dooley, coach at North Carolina for 11 years, has spent the last nine seasons as Virginia Tech’s head coach. He left the school Jan. 1 in the aftermath of a contractual disagreement with the university’s administration. The Hokies finished with a 9-2-1 record and a 25-24 victory over N.C. State in the Peach Bowl.