Former Alabama Football Analyst Launches U.S. Senate Bid in Georgia

On Monday, former Alabama football Analyst Derek Dooley announced his bid to run for Senate in Georgia, where Dooley will run as a Republican in a race against Sen. Jon Ossoff, the Democratic incumbent, who is seeking a second term in office.

Get our free mobile app

The son of legendary late Georgia head football coach Vince Dooley announced in a YouTube video on Monday that “We need new leadership in Georgia.” Dooley added, “That’s why I’m running for Senate. I’m Derek Dooley. I’m going to work with President Trump, fight for you, and always put Georgia first.”

The former Alabama analyst started his coaching career at Georgia in 1996, where he served as a graduate assistant. Dooley went on to coach at several stops in the NFL and college, with the newest candidate for the Senate in Georgia earning a shot as Tennessee’s head coach in 2010 before being fired by the program in 2012. Following his last head coaching gig at Tennessee, Dooley has had stops at the Dallas Cowboys, Missouri, Alabama, and the New York Giants.

Dooley who was apart of the Crimson Tide’s football program from 2022 to 2023 where he served as an offensive analyst for former Alabama head coach Nick Saban’s staff with Dooley spending a considerable part of his career coaching under Saban with stops at LSU (2000-2004) where he served as an tight end coach, and an assistant head coach role while coaching the runningbacks and then a short one season stint in Miami where Dooley coached the tight ends during Saban’s sole season as head coach for the Dolphins.

This has been a recent trend in the past few years, with former college head coaches starting a new career in politics, with Tommy Tuberville, former Auburn and Ole Miss head coach, becoming one of Alabama’s senators back in 2020. Now the former coach will look at a run for Governor of Alabama, and speculations of Auburn’s head basketball coach Bruce Pearl potentially being a candidate to fill Tuberville’s Senate spot, despite Pearl not announcing his run for Senate. Nebraska's legendary coach, Tom Osborn, also served three years in the U.S. House.

Dooley is using his background in football to win over voters, saying, “The foundation of football is the American spirit. You work hard, you play by the rules, you keep fighting when adversity hits. You have a fair shot at achieving your dreams.” In his campaign’s release.

The former Louisiana Tech and Tennessee head coach is backed by Gov. Brian Kemp, who turned to Dooley after deciding not to run for the seat himself. Dooley’s late father was frequently discussed as a possible candidate for the Senate, and his mother, Barbara Dooley, lost a Republican primary for Congress in 2002.

Follow @micahnichols0 on X (formerly known as Twitter) and tune into Tide100.9 for all your Alabama football, baseball, and basketball coverage.