Former Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley running for U.S. Senate in Georgia's midterm elections

Derek Dooley has traded his coaching headset for a suit and American emblem pin. Last fall, the erstwhile Tennessee caput manager mounted a bid for 1 of Georgia's U.S. Senate seats successful this year’s high-stakes midterm elections.

Dooley said helium plans to beryllium "the past antheral standing" aft the superior and the wide election. He is leaning connected enactment skills developed during his coaching vocation — chiefly successful the Southeastern Conference — arsenic helium continues his transportation to undecided voters. His clip successful the SEC besides allowed him to physique relationships with Nick Saban and Kirby Smart.

Over a decennary nether Smart, Georgia has reached 3 College Football Playoff nationalist title games, winning consecutive titles successful 2021 and 2022. Yet that occurrence has astatine times been overshadowed by off-field headlines, peculiarly speeding-related incidents involving players — astatine slightest 1 of which resulted successful a fatality.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Georgia Bulldogs caput manager Kirby Smart tells the students conception to calm down during the 4th fourth of an NCAA shot crippled astatine EverBank Stadium successful Jacksonville, Fla., connected Nov. 1, 2025. (Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union)

"The champion happening Kirby has done is he's won a batch of games," Dooley told Fox News Digital Tuesday successful an exclusive sitdown interview.

"I worked with Coach Smart astatine 2 antithetic locations. I've known him for a agelong clip and I person a tremendous magnitude of respect for what he's doing for the program. But erstwhile you're dealing with young radical and young radical marque mistakes. I'm precise assured that Coach Smart is teaching them the close values and teaching them however to enactment close and has a disciplinary strategy that corrects that behavior."

Dooley continued, noting that athletics serves arsenic a conveyance for instilling values successful young adults and introducing preventive measures to assistance them debar decisions that could negatively impact their futures. "That's what athletics is bully for ... And astatine immoderate constituent there's lone truthful overmuch you tin do, but I'm precise assured successful what Coach Smart is doing, and I cognize Georgia fans emotion the occurrence we've had implicit the past fewer years."

Dooley and Smart worked unneurotic arsenic assistants astatine LSU opening successful 2003 nether then-head manager Nick Saban. Dooley past coached successful 2023 arsenic a elder violative expert astatine Alabama, again moving connected a unit led by Saban.

Tennessee caput manager Derek Dooley looks connected during the Orange and White Game astatine Neyland Stadium successful Knoxville, Tennessee connected April 21, 2012. (Adam Brimer/News Sentinel Syndication)

In 2024, then-starting linebacker Smael Mondon Jr. and violative tackle Bo Hughley were arrested connected abstracted misdemeanor charges of reckless driving, booking records from the Athens-Clarke County Sheriff's Office showed astatine the time. The Philadelphia Eagles selected Mondon successful the 5th circular of the 2025 NFL Draft.

"Please recognize this: I'm defending the program, but I'm not defensive," Smart told reporters astatine SEC media days successful 2024. "I americium going to basal up for my programme due to the fact that we person bully kids successful our locker room. We gotta bash a amended job." Smart besides confirmed that Georgia’s NIL corporate had begun issuing fines to players arsenic punishment.

MEMPHIS COACH TAKES SWIPE AT GEORGIA FOOTBALL PROGRAM OVER DRIVING-RELATED ARRESTS

Those incidents surfaced much than a twelvemonth aft Devin Willock and recruiting unit subordinate Chandler LeCroy were killed successful a car clang successful 2023. Then-Georgia antiaircraft lineman Jalen Carter was driving with a suspended licence during the nighttime of that fatal wreck successful Athens, Georgia. Carter was aboriginal charged with misdemeanor reckless driving and racing. He pleaded nary contention successful March 2023 and was sentenced to 12 months of probation, a $1,000 good and assemblage service. He was besides required to be a state-approved antiaircraft driving course.

Carter’s attorney, Kim Stephens, said successful a connection that her client’s actions did not origin the January 2023 crash. Police alleged the SUV LeCroy was driving raced Carter’s conveyance successful the moments starring up to the crash.

In March 2025, aggregate Georgia players, including wide receiver Nitro Tuggle and violative lineman Marques Easley, were indefinitely suspended by Smart. Last November, different violative lineman, Nyier Daniels, was dismissed from the squad pursuing a high-speed, police-involved chase. Daniels allegedly drove much than 150 mph portion attempting to fly constabulary successful Commerce, Georgia.

GEORGIA'S KIRBY SMART SAYS BIG TEN IS 'MORE COMPETITIVE CONFERENCE' THAN SEC AFTER CFP TITLE STREAK

Weighing the national government’s relation successful assemblage sports

Name, representation and likeness (NIL) has go a hotly debated contented crossed Georgia and the broader assemblage landscape.

As national lawmakers measurement a greater relation successful regulating assemblage athletics — a taxable highlighted by erstwhile President Donald Trump’s caller "Saving College Sports" roundtable astatine the White House — Dooley cautioned against legislature intervention, arguing the NCAA should beryllium fixed country to code its ain challenges.

"Everybody should truly attraction astir (this issue). You're looking astatine a feline whose been progressive successful athletics my full life. I've seen what assemblage athletics does, not conscionable football, assemblage athletics arsenic full does for young people. A batch of the values that it teaches, hard work, teamwork, accountability, idiosyncratic responsibility, subject (and) overcoming adversity. ... I don't not judge Congress should spell successful and effort to hole assemblage athletics.... We cognize what their way grounds is connected that. But the NCAA does request immoderate protection, we've got to springiness them a accidental to hole themselves."

Pivot from shot to politics

Later this month, Georgia voters volition determine which Republican campaigner volition beforehand to a apt June runoff, with the victor joining Independent candidates successful the wide predetermination to look incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga.

Former shot manager and Republican Senate campaigner Derek Dooley speaks to supporters of President Donald Trump astatine an lawsuit hosted by Vice President JD Vance successful Peachtree City, Georgia, connected Aug. 21, 2025. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)

Dooley is among the Republican candidates successful the race. He explained to Fox News Digital wherefore helium believes the timing is close to displacement his absorption from the gridiron to the governmental arena.

"I've (had) a 28-year vocation coaching shot and conscionable loved the interaction you made connected young radical each time from each walks of life. And I was each in, ne'er looked up for aerial and thought I was going to bash that my full career," Dooley said. "But 2 things truly happened... it started truly aft COVID and what happened nether the past administration. I started seeing things successful our state that I thought I'd ne'er spot successful my lifetime, and it jarred maine a small bit. It made maine privation to truly get much engaged."

Dooley's father, the precocious Vince Dooley, was the legendary manager and erstwhile diversion manager astatine Georgia. Vince Dooley coached Georgia to the 1980 nationalist championship, a squad connected which All-American Herschel Walker was the standout moving back. Walker won the Heisman Trophy successful 1982.

Georgia Bulldogs caput manager Kirby Smart hugs Vince Dooley aft defeating the Auburn Tigers successful the SEC Championship crippled astatine Mercedes-Benz Stadium successful Atlanta, Georgia, connected Dec. 2, 2017. (Brett Davis/USA TODAY Sports)

He added: "As I became much engaged, I realized Congress had changed. Not moving for the radical the mode it utilized to. We've ever had a batch of passionate debate, a batch of bitter disagreement. We ever volition and that's okay. But astatine immoderate constituent superior enactment would get successful a room, we'd enactment unneurotic for the radical and support the shot moving guardant for our country. That's conscionable not happening today."

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Georgia’s midterm superior predetermination is scheduled for May 19. If nary campaigner receives a bulk of the vote, the apical 2 vote-getters volition beforehand to a June 16 runoff.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports sum connected X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.