Talking business with UGA legend Vince Dooley

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Talking business with UGA legend Vince Dooley

Photos: A look at University of Georgia coaching legend Vince Dooley on and off the field, Sept. 2013.

New Kennesaw State head football coach Brian Bohannon chats with former UGA football coach Vince Dooley before a press conference at Kennesaw State University Stadium on Tuesday, March 26, 2013. Dooley, 81, has recently remained active, helping Kennesaw State University launch a football program in 2015. The AJC's Henry Unger sat down with the legendary Bulldogs coach recently, discussing the principles of leadership that have guided Dooley throughout his life, on the field and off.

2001: Dooley trims a giant hydrangea bush outside his home at Lake Burton in North Georgia. "Neither one of my parents had a formal education," Dooley says. "Neither finished grammar school. But as I look back on it, they gave me some very basic values that were more important than a formal education."

University of Georgia quarterback Kirby Moore, head football coach Vince Dooley and Tommy Lawhorne talk strategy during a 1967 practice. Dooley says he built a winning program at UGA by hiring staffers with positive character: "As a head coach at 31, I was much younger than most of my staff. I had an early ability of appreciating the importance of my staff."

2009: University of Georgia Athletics Director Vince Dooley receives the Amos Alonzo Stagg award during luncheon at the American Football Coaches Association Convention. Dooley, educated in Catholic school, credits a nun with giving him a good early lesson in how to lead: "If you’re going to lead, lead in a positive way," Dooley says.

Dooley had much respect for in-state coaching legend (and rival) Bobby Dodd at Georgia Tech (right). As an assistant football coach at Auburn, prior to getting the Georgia job, Dooley scouted Dodd's Tech teams and says Dodd "was a great motivator." He continues: "You want to learn from the best."

2009: Ga. Tech Athletic Director Dave Braine, left, presents his UGA counterpart Vince Dooley with a plaque honoring Dooley's 40-year career during a pregame ceremony at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Grant Field. Dooley led UGA to one national championship and six SEC titles. He says that as an administrator, he learned "the importance of depending on other people in key positions."

... a little bit of luck, Dooley explains. Regarding football success, he notes, "You’ve got to have a program with consistency. What you don’t want is deep variations (in winning from one season to another)." Translating this to overall success, Dooley says, "Prepare yourself to be lucky. Prepare yourself to take advantage of opportunities when they come."

University of Georgia coach Vince Dooley, center, and a group of his Bulldogs display their 1980 national championship football rings. The Bulldogs went 12-0 in 1980 with a victory over Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl to give them the championship. "It was a challenge to maximize the ability of these players to play together," Dooley says of his Bulldogs teams.

1993: This photo was taken at Sanford Stadium in Athens upon the announcement that Athens would be the host to Olympic Soccer. Pictured, left to right, are University President Charles B. Knapp, Billy Payne, Vince Dooley and Richard Yarbrough. As for Dooley's explorations of running for political office in the late '80s, he says "while I wanted to do it in my head, I never wanted to do it in my heart."

When former UGA president Michael Adams (left) decided to replace Dooley as athletic director in 2004, the move became a major controversy. Dooley says he didn't agree with how Adams handled the situation, but says "I can understand him wanting to bring in his own person."

2003: Dooley works with quiet dedication in his office on the 4th floor of the Butts Mehre building in Athens during the last year of his contract. "I wanted to stay on a few more years, but [Adams] didn’t want me to," Dooley says.

Dooley made his first retreat at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit near Conyers over 40 years ago and is a regular visitor and retreatant.

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New Kennesaw State head football coach Brian Bohannon chats with former UGA football coach Vince Dooley before a press conference at Kennesaw State University Stadium on Tuesday, March 26, 2013. Dooley, 81, has recently remained active, helping Kennesaw State University launch a football program in 2015. The AJC's Henry Unger sat down with the legendary Bulldogs coach recently, discussing the principles of leadership that have guided Dooley throughout his life, on the field and off.

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