Former Tennessee and Louisiana Tech head football coach Derek Dooley has lost his bid for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination in Georgia, falling short in the primary election there June 16 after committing the partisan sin of admitting that Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election.
Dooley, 58, is the son of legendary Georgia head coach Vince Dooley. As a political novice, he traded on his name and football background in his campaign for the nomination, much like former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville did in his successful campaign for a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama in 2020.
But a big difference between Tuberville and Dooley is that Trump endorsed one and not the other.
Trump instead endorsed Georgia Congressman Mike Collins, who won 56% of the vote in Georgia with 159 of 159 localities reporting results, compared to 44% for Dooley, according to unofficial state election results.
Collins now will face off against incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Osoff for a high-stakes U.S. Senate seat in the general election in November.
Dooley conceded the election to Collins Tuesday night.
“Like my old high school coach said, the clock just ran out on us,” Dooley told supporters in Georgia Tuesday night. “I wish we had a little more time.”
Derek Dooley watches the Tennessee Volunteers warm-up during practice in preparation for the Music City Bowl in 2010.
Trump endorsed Derek Dooley’s opponent two days before election
Dooley was born in Athens, Georgia, where his father was coach, but the son hasn’t been in college football since 2023, when he was working as an offensive analyst at Alabama under head coach Nick Saban. Dooley served as the head coach at Louisiana Tech for three seasons from 2007 through 2009, where his record was 17-20. He later coached three seasons at Tennessee from 2010 through 2012, where his record was 15-21.
Trump endorsed Collins instead of Dooley just two days before the runoff election June 16.
“I don’t know Derek Dooley, and neither does anyone else, but he seems like a nice person,” Trump said in a post June 14 on Truth Social. “Unfortunately, he has lived outside of Georgia for most of his life, didn’t vote in 2020 or 2016, and said that I lost Georgia in 2020 when, in actuality, the facts have now proven that I won by a lot!”
Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election against Trump before Trump won the White House back in 2024. Dooley privately acknowledged that in an audio recording obtained by the Washington Examiner.
But such an admission can hurt a Republican who needs Trump’s endorsement to help put him over the edge in a Republican primary election, especially if that candidate has no political experience and hadn’t even voted in an election in many years, as Dooley did not.
By contrast, Collins is a sitting Congressman who has made the untrue claim that the 2020 election was stolen.
Dooley did have the support of the Georgia governor
Collins previously won the right to advance to the June 16 runoff with 41% of the vote in a five-way Republican race in May, when Dooley finished second at 30%.
Dooley previously had won the endorsement of Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who also had pushed back on Trump’s false claims of a stolen election. Kemp and his wife “stuck their neck out for a guy who’s never been in politics back in August,” Dooley said.
Dooley congratulated Collins.
“He got out early, and we just never could catch him,” Dooley said.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ex-Tennessee coach Derek Dooley loses again, this time as a politician
