Derek Dooley, a son of Georgia football royalty who went on to coach at the highest levels of college football himself, is one of three top candidates in the Republican primary for Senate in Georgia on Tuesday.
Here are five things to know about Mr. Dooley, 57, of rural Clayton, Ga.
1. His father brought a college football championship home to Georgia. Mr. Dooley’s father, Vince, coached the University of Georgia for a quarter-century, winning more than 200 games and the national title in 1980. Mr. Dooley, after a spell as a lawyer, followed his father into coaching, leading Louisiana Tech from 2007 to 2009 and the University of Tennessee from 2010 to 2012. (He was far less successful than his father in the powerhouse S.E.C.; his overall record coaching the Volunteers was 15-21.)
2. He has received a lot of support from Gov. Brian Kemp. Mr. Dooley has been joined by Mr. Kemp, a popular figure in the state, at more than 64 campaign stops over the past few months, according to the Dooley campaign. Mr. Kemp’s super PAC is also running TV ads in support of Mr. Dooley. The two men are close and grew up together in Athens, Ga. Mr. Kemp encouraged Mr. Dooley to run for the seat. At a recent campaign stop, Mr. Kemp said Mr. Dooley was one of his “best friends.” The governor argues that Mr. Dooley is the only candidate in the Republican primary who can beat Senator Jon Ossoff, a popular Democrat.
3. He was politically activated by Democrats’ response to Covid-19. Mr. Dooley was living in New York City and working as an assistant coach for the New York Giants of the N.F.L. when the coronavirus pandemic began. He was drawn into politics, he said, by frustration with vaccine and mask mandates that government officials placed on workplaces and schools.
4. He is running as a political outsider and didn’t vote for many years. Mr. Dooley has said he wants to “change how Washington does its business.” He has called for senators to be limited to two terms, and has vowed to only serve two himself if he is elected. Mr. Dooley has also said that he once went nearly two decades without voting, according to The Associated Press. “I spent three decades in coaching probably doing the exact opposite of what a lot of D.C. politicians are doing,” he said in his campaign launch video. His outsider status has also become a target for rivals. One of them, Representative Mike Collins, recently wrote on social media: “You don’t beat Jon Ossoff by having no record.”
5. He has sought to appeal to President Trump. Mr. Dooley’s links to Mr. Kemp, who has had a tumultuous relationship with the president, could pose a challenge as Mr. Dooley angles for Mr. Trump’s endorsement (Mr. Trump has so far remained neutral). Mr. Dooley has sought to limit any daylight between himself and the president. His campaign uses the slogan “Georgia First,” an echo of Mr. Trump’s “America First.” He met with Mr. Trump in the Oval Office for about 90 minutes in August, discussing football and politics, according to the Dooley campaign.
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