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Derek Dooley traded in his coaching headphones for a suit and an American flag pin. Last fall, the former Tennessee head coach filed a bid for one of Georgia’s U.S. Senate seats in this year’s high-stakes midterm elections.
Dooley said he plans to be “the last man standing” after the primary and general elections. He leans on leadership skills developed during his coaching career, primarily in the Southeastern Conference, as he continues his pitch to undecided voters. His time in the SEC also allowed him to develop relationships with Nick Saban and Kirby Smart.
Over more than a decade under Smart, Georgia has reached three College Football Playoff national championship games, winning back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022. However, that success has at times been overshadowed by off-field headlines, particularly speeding-related incidents involving players, at least one of which resulted in a death.
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Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart tells the student section to calm down during the fourth quarter of an NCAA football game at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, on Nov. 1, 2025. (Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union)
“The best thing Kirby has done is win a lot of games,” Dooley told Pak Gazette Digital on Tuesday in an exclusive interview.
“I’ve worked with Coach Smart in two different locations. I’ve known him for a long time and I have tremendous respect for what he’s doing for the program. But when it comes to young people and young people make mistakes. I have a lot of confidence that Coach Smart is teaching them the right values and teaching them how to act correctly and has a disciplinary system that corrects that behavior.”
Dooley went on to note that athletics serves as a vehicle to instill values in young adults and introduce preventative measures to help them avoid decisions that could negatively impact their future. “That’s what athletics is good for… And at some point there’s only so much you can do, but I have a lot of confidence in what Coach Smart is doing, and I know Georgia fans love the success we’ve had the last few years.”
Dooley and Smart worked together as assistants at LSU starting in 2003 under then-head coach Nick Saban. Dooley last coached in 2023 as a senior offensive analyst at Alabama, again working on a coaching staff led by Saban.
Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley watches during the Orange and White Game at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee on April 21, 2012. (Adam Brimer/News Sentinel Syndication)
In 2024, then-starting linebacker Smael Mondon Jr. and offensive tackle Bo Hughley were arrested on separate misdemeanor charges of reckless driving, Athens-Clarke County Sheriff’s Office booking records showed at the time. The Philadelphia Eagles selected Mondon in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
“Please understand this: I’m defending the program, but I’m not defensive,” Smart told reporters at SEC media days in 2024. “I’m going to defend my program because we have good kids in our locker room. We have to do a better job.” Smart also confirmed that Georgia’s NIL collective had begun imposing fines on players as punishment.
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Those incidents emerged more than a year after Devin Willock and recruiting staff member Chandler LeCroy died in a car crash in 2023. Then-Georgia defensive lineman Jalen Carter was driving on a suspended license on the night of that fatal crash in Athens, Georgia. Carter was later charged with misdemeanor reckless driving and racing. He pleaded no contest in March 2023 and was sentenced to 12 months probation, a $1,000 fine and community service. He was also required to attend a state-approved defensive driving course.
Carter’s attorney, Kim Stephens, said in a statement that her client’s actions did not cause the crash in January 2023. Police alleged that the pickup truck LeCroy was driving accelerated with Carter’s vehicle in the moments before the crash.
In March 2025, Smart indefinitely suspended several Georgia players, including wide receiver Nitro Tuggle and offensive lineman Marques Easley. Last November, another offensive lineman, Nyier Daniels, was dismissed from the team after a high-speed police chase. Daniels allegedly drove more than 150 mph while trying to flee from police in Commerce, Georgia.
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Weighing the federal government’s role in college sports
Name, image and likeness (NIL) has become a topic of heated debate in Georgia and the university landscape at large.
As federal lawmakers weigh a larger role in regulating college athletics — an issue highlighted by former President Donald Trump’s recent “Save College Sports” roundtable at the White House — Dooley warned against congressional intervention, arguing that the NCAA should be given space to address its own challenges.
“Everyone should really care about (this issue). You’re looking at a guy who’s been involved in athletics my whole life. I’ve seen what college athletics does, not just football, college athletics in general does for young people. A lot of the values it teaches, hard work, teamwork, responsibility, personal responsibility, discipline (and) overcoming adversity… I don’t think Congress should come in and try to fix college athletics… We know what their record is on that. But the NCAA needs some protection, we have to give them the opportunity to fix themselves.
Pivot from football to politics
Later this month, Georgia voters will decide which Republican candidate will advance to a likely June runoff, with the winner joining independent candidates in the general election to face incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga.
Former football coach and Republican Senate candidate Derek Dooley speaks to supporters of President Donald Trump at an event hosted by Vice President JD Vance in Peachtree City, Georgia, on August 21, 2025. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)
Dooley is among the Republican candidates in the race. He explained to Pak Gazette Digital why he believes the time is right to shift his focus from the playing field to the political arena.
“I’ve had a 28-year career as a football coach and I loved the impact you made on young men every day from all walks of life. And I was totally involved, I never looked for air and I thought I was going to do that my entire career,” Dooley said. “But two things really happened…it really started after COVID and what happened under the last administration. I started seeing things in our country that I thought I’d never see in my lifetime, and it shook me up a little bit. It made me want to get more involved.”
Dooley’s father, the late Vince Dooley, was the legendary coach and former athletic director at Georgia. Vince Dooley led Georgia to the 1980 national championship, a team on which All-American Herschel Walker was the featured running back. Walker won the Heisman Trophy in 1982.
Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart hugs Vince Dooley after defeating the Auburn Tigers in the SEC Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 2, 2017. (Brett Davis/USA TODAY Sports)
He added: “As I became more engaged, I realized that Congress had changed. It wasn’t working for the people like it used to. We’ve always had a lot of passionate debates, a lot of bitter disagreements. We always will, and that’s fine. But at some point serious leadership would come into a room, we’d work together for the people, and we’d keep the ball moving for our country. That’s just not happening today.”
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Georgia’s midterm primary elections are scheduled for May 19. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes, the top two vote-getters will advance to a runoff on June 16.
