Later this month, Georgia voters will decide which Republican and Independent candidates advance to a June runoff or the general election to face incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., in the high stakes 2026 midterms.
Former Tennessee head coach and NFL assistant Derek Dooley is among the Republican candidates in the race. In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, he explained why he believes the timing is right to shift his focus from the gridiron to the political arena.
“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,” Dooley 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 our lifetime and it jarred me a little bit. It made me wanted to get involved.”
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Other Republicans in the race include Rep. Mike Collins and Rep. Buddy Carter, both of Georgia.
Dooley was born in Athens, Georgia, close to the University of Georgia’s campus. After graduating from law school at Georgia, he kicked off his coaching career as a graduate assistant for the Bulldogs football team.
When asked about the ongoing debate over transgender athletes’ participation in girls’ and women’s sports, Dooley took a firm stance.
“I have a lot of respect for all people … But I don’t have to be s sociologist or a doctor to know that it’s simply not fair to allow biological men to compete with women.”
SAVE WOMEN’S SPORTS ACTIVISTS THANK PAM BONDI FOR TITLE IX ENFORCEMENT AFTER HER DEPARTURE FROM DOJ
Dooley also suggested the inclusion of transgender athletes risks reversing years of progress in women’s sports.
“We’ve made tremendous progress in women’s sports over the years … and I don’t want to go backwards.”
In 2025, President Donald Trump signed the “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order, which directed federal agencies to interpret Title IX based on biological sex at birth.
While the federal government has considerable latitude over entities that receive federal funds and do not comply with the executive order, legal challenges quickly followed. Trump declared shortly after signing the order that “the war on women’s sports is over,” but the issue was not immediately resolved.
Less than 24 hours after Trump signed the “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order, the U.S. Department of Education announced an investigation into two colleges — San Jose State University and the University of Pennsylvania.
The probe also extended to the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association. All three entities faced reported Title IX violations related to the inclusion of transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports.
Dooley last coached in 2023 when he worked as a senior offensive analyst at Alabama under Nick Saban.
Dooley’s father, the late Vince Dooley, is the legendary coach and former athletic director at Georgia. Vince Dooley coached Georgia to the 1980 national championship, a team where All-American Herschel Walker was the standout running back.
Walker won the Heisman Trophy in 1982.
Like Dooley now, Walker ran for the U.S. Senate in Georgia in 2022 but was defeated by Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in a runoff. Following a nomination from Trump, Walker was confirmed by the Senate in October 2025 as U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas.
In 1989, Walker was traded from the Dallas Cowboys to the Minnesota Vikings in one of the most infamous and lopsided deals in NFL history. Dallas received a haul of draft picks and players in a deal widely credited with launching the Cowboys’ 1990s dynasty. Walker rushed for 2,264 yards over three seasons in Minnesota before departing after the 1991 campaign.
Georgia’s midterm primary election is scheduled for May 19. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote, the top two vote-getters will advance to a June 16 runoff.
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