Derek Dooley mounting bid for U.S. Senate seat in Georgia, per report
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Derek Dooley is reportedly drawing closer to running for a U.S. Senate seat in 2026. On Thursday, he made his biggest step yet toward announcing his candidacy.
The former Tennessee head coach has hired Cody Hall and Chelsey Ruppersburg, a pair of advisors to Georgia governor Brian Kemp, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Greg Bluestein.
On June 6, Dooley initially went public with the fact that he was considering a run against Jon Ossoff for the Senate seat from Georgia, saying then that he would finalize a decision “in the coming weeks”.
Dooley obviously has strong ties to the state as the son of legendary Georgia head coach and athletic director Vince Dooley. He walked on at Virginia before getting a law degree at UGA, ultimately joining Jim Donnan’s staff as a graduate assistant. He eventually served as head coach at Louisiana Tech from 2007-2009 before taking the job at Tennessee, going 15-21 before being fired in 2012 with one game to go in the season.
If Dooley wins the Senate seat, he wouldn’t be the first former SEC head coach to serve there. Tommy Tuberville, who is set to run for governor of Alabama, has represented the state in the Senate since 2021.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
