Georgia legend Vince Dooley's son Derek considers run for Senate

The son of legendary Georgia football coach Vince Dooley is weighing a run against Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff, a move that could shake up one of the most competitive U.S. Senate races in the nation.

Derek Dooley, former Tennessee head football coach whose father was a University of Georgia icon, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday he’ll make his decision whether to enter the Republican primary in the coming weeks.

ExploreWho is Derek Dooley, the football coach weighing U.S. Senate run in Georgia?

“Georgia deserves stronger, common-sense leadership in the U.S. Senate that represents all Georgians and focuses on results — not headlines,” he said.

“I believe our state needs a political outsider in Washington — not another career politician — to cut through the noise and partisanship and get back to real problem-solving.”

His interest comes as Gov. Brian Kemp and President Donald Trump are seeking to rally behind a pick and avoid a messy GOP primary fight. Ossoff is the only Senate Democrat on the ballot next year in a state Trump carried in 2024, and he is considered both a vulnerable incumbent and a battle-tested campaigner.

It’s not certain whether Dooley — a 56-year-old who has never run for office — has a path to a rare joint endorsement from Kemp and Trump. He’s long had close ties to Kemp, but his relationship with Trump’s circle is not known.

If he runs, Dooley would join a Republican primary that has drawn serious candidates but lacks a clear front-runner after Kemp declined to enter the race.

It also evokes memories of the state’s last Senate contest in 2022, when Republican voters turned to Herschel Walker, a Georgia football star who cruised through the GOP primary only to lose to Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock in the runoff.

Kemp and Trump were said to have discussed potential candidates during a secretive May 10 meeting in Washington. The governor recently told donors to “keep your powder dry” and “give us time” as he works to hash out a plan with the president.

Meanwhile, the two most prominent candidates already in — U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter and Insurance Commissioner John King — have pressed activists and donors for a chance to prove themselves.

An Athens native, Dooley grew up in Georgia football royalty. His father, Vince Dooley, who died in 2022, was a beloved coach and athletic director who considered runs for governor and U.S. Senate in the 1980s and 1990s.

Credit: Special to AJC

Derek Dooley graduated from the University of Virginia in 1990 and earned a law degree from UGA in 1994 before following his father into coaching. He rose through the ranks to become head coach at the University of Tennessee in 2010, compiling a 15-21 record over three seasons.

After his stint in Knoxville, Dooley held coaching roles for the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants, and at the collegiate level for Missouri and Alabama. Most recently, he worked as an offensive analyst for the Crimson Tide during the 2024 season.

Like his father, Dooley is a devoted history buff who has toured battlefields around the world. He once quoted Winston Churchill at a pregame news conference and drew criticism for comparing his team’s struggles to disoriented German soldiers on D-Day.

Dooley also has long-standing ties to Kemp, who vacationed with the Dooley family as a child and roomed with Derek’s brother, Daniel, at the University of Georgia. Derek Dooley contributed $5,000 to Kemp’s reelection campaign in 2022.

Although his football background is well-known, Dooley’s political views remain a mystery. He’s said little publicly about major issues, avoided endorsing candidates and steered clear of high-profile races. That blank slate could prove to be either a strength or a liability in next year’s contest.

The stakes are high. A joint blessing from Kemp and Trump could potentially end the GOP primary before it begins. A misstep could strengthen Ossoff, who is already working to energize Democrats and woo swing voters who could decide the race.

Ossoff and Warnock both benefited from Republican infighting in 2020, when Trump declined to back Kemp’s Senate appointee, Kelly Loeffler, sparking a bitter clash with then-Rep. Doug Collins that fractured the conservative vote.

In 2022, Trump’s early endorsement of Walker despite mounting red flags backfired, helping Warnock win a full six-year term. Kemp kept his distance from Walker for much of that campaign, only publicly campaigning for him in the final days of the runoff.

Credit: TNS

Ossoff, meanwhile, enters the 2026 race in a stronger position than when he first won the seat. He’s stockpiled more than $11 million, and he’s working to follow Warnock’s 2022 formula of appealing to both the base and voters uneasy with Trump.

That backdrop helps explain why Kemp and his allies have tried to avoid what they feared could become a free-for-all GOP primary.

So far, the outcome is mixed. Carter and King quickly entered the race, while U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene took herself out of contention after polls showed she’d struggle badly against Ossoff.

U.S. Reps. Mike Collins and Rich McCormick, as well as Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, are weighing their options. Former Georgia U.S. Rep. Doug Collins and Loeffler, both now Cabinet members, and other formidable GOP candidates appear to be staying out.

Carter, who has already spent $2 million on ads, told the “Politically Georgia” podcast he’ll stay in the race even if GOP leaders endorse someone else. King, meanwhile, urged Kemp and Trump to stay neutral for now.

“I don’t think that’s helpful for them to jump in at this point because guess what? We’ve made some poor choices in Georgia,” King told “Politically Georgia.” “And that’s why we have two Democrats in the Senate today.”