Ahead of one of the fiercest rivalries in college football, fans and alumni of the University of Tennessee who live in the Atlanta area gathered at a tavern in Buckhead to cheer on the Volunteers.
As their former coach, Derek Dooley, competes for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Georgia, most fans didn’t even know he was in the race — nor any other GOP candidates, for that matter.
They were more focused on defeating the No. 6-ranked Georgia Bulldogs. Dooley is the son of former Georgia Bulldogs head coach Vince Dooley. In the candidate’s most recent post on X, formerly known as Twitter, he shared an image of stickers that read “Dawgs for Dooley” in red and black font, with the caption “Coming to a tailgate soon!”
When fans recalled Dooley’s career at Tennessee, from 2010 to 2012, they didn’t consider him particularly talented but most said they wouldn’t hold his coaching recording against him. Volunteers, especially those who are Republican, said they would be open to learning more about his campaign and the issues he’s running on.
Here is a sampling of what Tennessee fans told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about Dooley’s campaign for Senate.
His coaching career at Tennessee was abysmal
“I hope he’s a better politician than football coach,” said Mary Brink, who lives in Buckhead.
Mark Gault, who lives in Stone Mountain and took graduate classes at UT, echoed that same statement. “Terrible coach, nice guy,” he said.
Gault, who considers himself a “broken-hearted Democrat” and feels the party has moved too far to the left, said he would be open to voting for a Republican.
Dooley’s coaching was good training ground
“As a coach, he has administrative and managerial experience. He understands statistics, and the pulse of the fan base,” all transferrable skills, said Ed Dodson, who walked on the Volunteers team in 1971 as a punter.
Dodson, 72, described himself as a moderate conservative and “never Trump” voter.
“I’m 100% totally, truly completely in (Dooley’s) camp. He did as good a job as he could in an emergency situation,” Dodson said. “He has integrity, and he has values.”
Dooley brings skills other than coaching
“He’s a smart guy. He went to law school. Just couldn’t win at Tennessee,” said Steve Tabb, who graduated from UT in 1976.
Tabb, who lives in Dunwoody, said he’s been disappointed in Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff’s positions on Israel and would be open to a Republican candidate who was a strong supporter of the Jewish state.
He is a blank canvas and political unknown
Erika Carrodeguas and Denielle Saitta, who both graduated from UT in 2014, said they weren’t aware Dooley was running for Senate, but his coaching record at Tennessee wouldn’t determine their political preferences.
Doug Watts, who graduated in 2021 from UT, said he had heard Dooley was in the race but didn’t know much about his platform.
Regarding Dooley’s coaching record: “It’s not a factor,” said Watts, who lives in North Druid Hills.
His motives are dubious
Add Seymour, who graduated from UT 1995, gave credit to Dooley for attempting to turn the Tennessee football program around.
“The program was in disarray, but Dooley wasn’t a great leader. The job was just too big for him at the time,” said Seymour, who lives in Midtown.
But voting records showed Dooley did not vote in presidential elections in 2016 or 2020. He also didn’t cast a ballot in Georgia’s presidential primary last year.
“Is he just running on the Dooley family name?” Seymour asked.
Seymour said he is more likely to support Ossoff.
“Ossoff has done a solid job in Congress. He’s been upfront, honest and out there on issues, like the Postal Service,” he said.
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