Ex-Tennessee Coach Derek Dooley Defends Kirby Smart While Running for Georgia Senate Seat

Derek Dooley has traded his coaching headset for a suit and American flag pin. Last fall, the former Tennessee head coach launched a bid for one of Georgia's U.S. Senate seats in this year's midterm elections.

Dooley said he plans to be "the last man standing" after the primary and general election. He draws on leadership skills from his coaching career, mainly in the Southeastern Conference, to appeal to undecided voters. His SEC tenure helped him build ties with Nick Saban and Kirby Smart.

Under Smart, Georgia has reached three College Football Playoff national championship games over the past decade, winning back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022. That success has sometimes been overshadowed by off-field issues, especially speeding incidents with players, including at least one fatality.

"The best thing Kirby has done is he's won a lot of games," Dooley told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview Tuesday.

"I worked with Coach Smart at two different locations. I've known him for a long time and I have a tremendous amount of respect for what he's doing for the program. But when you're dealing with young people and young people make mistakes. I'm very confident that Coach Smart is teaching them the right values and teaching them how to act right and has a disciplinary system that corrects that behavior."

Dooley said athletics helps instill values in young adults and introduces measures to steer them from bad decisions. "That's what athletics is good for ... And at some point there's only so much you can do, but I'm very confident in what Coach Smart is doing, and I know Georgia fans love the success we've had over the last few years."

Dooley and Smart served as assistants at LSU starting in 2003 under head coach Nick Saban. Dooley last coached in 2023 as a senior offensive analyst at Alabama, again on Saban's staff.

In 2024, starting linebacker Smael Mondon Jr. and offensive tackle Bo Hughley faced separate misdemeanor reckless driving charges, according to Athens-Clarke County Sheriff's Office booking records. The Philadelphia Eagles picked Mondon in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

"Please understand this: I'm defending the program, but I'm not defensive," Smart told reporters at SEC media days in 2024. "I am going to stand up for my program because we have good kids in our locker room. We gotta do a better job." Smart confirmed Georgia's NIL collective had started fining players as punishment.

Those arrests came more than a year after Devin Willock and recruiting staffer Chandler LeCroy died in a 2023 car crash. Georgia defensive lineman Jalen Carter drove with a suspended license that night in Athens. He faced misdemeanor reckless driving and racing charges, pleaded no contest in March 2023, and received 12 months probation, a $1,000 fine, community service and a defensive driving course.

Carter's attorney, Kim Stephens, said her client's actions did not cause the January 2023 crash. Police said the SUV driven by LeCroy raced Carter's vehicle before the wreck.

In March 2025, Smart indefinitely suspended several players, including wide receiver Nitro Tuggle and offensive lineman Marques Easley. Last November, offensive lineman Nyier Daniels was dismissed after a high-speed police chase in Commerce, Georgia, where he allegedly topped 150 mph while fleeing.

Name, image and likeness rules have sparked debate in Georgia and college sports. As federal lawmakers consider more regulation in college athletics, a topic former President Donald Trump raised at a recent White House "Saving College Sports" roundtable, Dooley warned against congressional involvement.

"Everybody should really care about (this issue). You're looking at a guy who's been involved in athletics my whole life. I've seen what college athletics does, not just football, college athletics as a whole does for young people. A lot of the values that it teaches, hard work, teamwork, accountability, personal responsibility, discipline (and) overcoming adversity. ... I don't believe Congress should go in and try to fix college athletics.... We know what their track record is on that. But the NCAA does need some protection, we've got to give them a chance to fix themselves."

Georgia voters head to the polls later this month for the Republican primary. The winner advances to a likely June 16 runoff and then faces incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., in the general election. The primary is May 19; no majority means the top two advance.

Dooley, a Republican candidate, said post-COVID events under the prior administration pushed him from football to politics after a 28-year coaching career.

"I've (had) a 28-year career coaching football and just loved the impact you made on young people every day from all walks of life. And I was all in, never looked up for air and thought I was going to do that my whole career," he said. "But two things really happened... it started really after COVID and what happened under the last administration. I started seeing things in our country that I thought I'd never see in my lifetime, and it jarred me a little bit. It made me want to really get more engaged."

Dooley's late father, Vince Dooley, coached Georgia to the 1980 national title and later served as athletic director. All-American Herschel Walker starred on that team and won the Heisman Trophy in 1982.

Dooley added that Congress no longer works for the people. Leaders used to resolve differences and advance the country, he said, but that does not happen today.