Former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley announced his intentions to run for U.S. Senate in Georgia on Monday, joining a crowded Republican primary to unseat U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.).
Dooley, who most recently worked as an analyst under the legendary Nick Saban at the University of Alabama, is the son of a legend himself in former University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley.
The 57-year-old Dooley will likely draw comparisons to Alabama's senior U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn), a former coach himself who had never held office before running for Senate. Similarly to Tuberville, Dooley came out swinging against biological men competing in women's sports under the guise of being a female and open borders.
“[The people] want somebody who’s going to mean what they say, say what they mean and then go deliver results,” Dooley said in an announcement video.
"Professional politicians like Jon Ossoff are the problem," he added. "Lawlessness, open season on the border, inflation everywhere, woke stuff — that’s what they represent."
"We need new leadership in Georgia. 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.”
Dooley walked on at the University of Virginia as a wide receiver and later earned a scholarship. He earned a law degree from the University of Georgia. He practiced law for a short time before working his way up the coaching ladder, later becoming head coach at Louisiana Tech for three years before landing at Tennessee.
Dooley's late father flirted with the idea of running for Senate in Georgia but ultimately decided against it, and his mother, Barbara Dooley, lost a Republican primary for Congress in 2002.
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