{"id":754918,"date":"2026-02-16T00:14:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T00:14:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/754918\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T00:14:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T00:14:14","slug":"can-former-football-coach-secure-nomination-to-run-against-ossoff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/754918\/","title":{"rendered":"Can former football coach secure nomination to run against Ossoff?"},"content":{"rendered":"

ATLANTA, Ga. (AP) – Lots of candidates pitch themselves as political outsiders. Derek Dooley<\/a> goes a step further. Not only is the former football coach running for office for the first time, but he said he did not vote for nearly two decades.<\/p>\n

He did not vote when Republican Donald Trump was first elected president in 2016. Nor did he vote in 2020, when Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden.<\/p>\n

But Dooley does not worry about that as he seeks the Republican nomination to face off against Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in Georgia. He insists that Washington needs someone with a fresh outlook, someone who is not focused on \u201ctheir own political career or their political ambitions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Besides, lots of people do not vote, and Dooley told The Associated Press that he wants to inspire more people to do so.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re not vigilant in exercising that right, things can go pretty sideways in our country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Dooley\u2019s opponents in the May 19 primary include two congressmen, Mike Collins and Buddy Carter. Although Dooley supports Trump, Collins and Carter are more closely identified with Trump\u2019s \u201cMake America Great Again\u201d brand. <\/p>\n

With support from the more establishment Gov. Brian Kemp, Dooley will test whether his outsider narrative is compelling at a time when Trump\u2019s anti-establishment movement already dominates the nation\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n

The primary winner will be among the most important Republican candidates in this year\u2019s midterm elections, with a chance to help the party preserve its thin Senate majority by ousting Ossoff.<\/p>\n

Dooley is the son of legendary University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley. Derek Dooley worked as a lawyer before he started coaching. He led the University of Tennessee but was fired after a losing record. He then worked as an assistant coach for other colleges as well as professional teams.<\/p>\n

He stepped away from the sidelines after the 2023 season, and Dooley said coaching people from a range of backgrounds will help him connect with Georgia\u2019s diverse voting population.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my 30-plus-year professional career, it\u2019s never been about me in anything I was doing,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s about people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dooley said he got interested in politics during Biden\u2019s presidency, when he was upset about lax border enforcement, economic policies and support for transgender athletes, and says he voted for Trump in 2024. He has criticized Ossoff over the same issues.<\/p>\n

Republican strategist Brian Robinson said, \u201cYou can tell this wasn\u2019t a guy who spent his life in politics or around politics or consumed by politics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kemp was close with Dooley\u2019s family growing up, and he endorsed Dooley for Senate, putting establishment heft behind the political novice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was looking for a political outsider, and it just happened to be a guy that I\u2019ve known for, you know, 50-plus years,\u201d Kemp said on stage with Dooley during an event with the Atlanta Young Republicans on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Kemp and Dooley drew cheers from many in the crowd. Several people at the event said they had not decided on their primary choice but appreciated Dooley\u2019s outsider perspective.<\/p>\n

The relationship between Dooley and Kemp does not impress others.<\/p>\n

\u201cCompletely siloing yourself with the old, establishment governor is not a way to say you\u2019re an outsider,\u201d said Courtlyn Cook, chair of the Glynn County Republicans in southeast Georgia. She said voters will remember that Kemp and Trump have not always gotten along, a key issue when the president enjoys deep support from the party\u2019s base.<\/p>\n

Dooley\u2019s ties with Kemp are a target for political opponents.<\/p>\n

Devon Cruz, senior communications adviser for the Democratic Party of Georgia, described Dooley as someone with \u201caccess to the Governor\u2019s political machine.\u201d Harley Adsit, a spokesperson for Carter\u2019s campaign, called Dooley the \u201cultimate insider.\u201d<\/p>\n

Canton voter Venessa Artigas, 53, likes Kemp and understands why some of her friends used to not vote, so she will likely support Dooley.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we need to get career politicians out and get the voice of the people in,\u201d said Artigas, who attended a local event for the conservative organization Turning Point Action.<\/p>\n

University of West Georgia student Timothy Jackson, 19, is planning to vote for Collins because of his close ties to Trump, but is open to Carter.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth of them have been in Congress, and so they know what it takes,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cDooley is going to be hard because he\u2019s never been in that position before.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Kemp-linked group funded an advertisement for Dooley last fall, blaming Collins and Carter for the government shutdown, lumping them in with Ossoff.<\/p>\n

Carter, a pharmacist, has been a political fixture along Georgia\u2019s coast for nearly three decades. Collins is a trucking company co-owner and the son of a former congressman.<\/p>\n

\u201cRepublicans are going to face an uphill battle, but Dooley doesn\u2019t bring the baggage that other candidates could possibly bring and can speak not only to voters on the right and Republicans, but the voters in the center who will make the decision,\u201d said longtime Republican consultant Jason Shepherd. \u201cJon Ossoff has a voting record that Dooley can run on and pick apart. Dooley does not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dooley said he wants to boost workforce training and reduce home prices by cutting back government regulation. He also praised the Trump administration\u2019s capture of Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, who was ousted as Venezuela\u2019s president by the U.S. military in January, and blamed immigrants for reducing the number of available homes for U.S. citizens. Dooley promised to introduce legislation to prevent lawmakers from using taxpayer money to send campaign-related materials, which he accused Collins of doing improperly.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Collins said his actions were approved by the House Communications Standards Commission, and he criticized Dooley as \u201ca washed-up lawyer and failed coach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robinson, the GOP strategist, said Dooley will need to explain to Georgians why being an outsider matters enough to earn their votes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a well-worn path. The saliency of that message probably depends on the mood of the country and the cycle that we\u2019re in,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cI don\u2019t think we know just yet if that outsider message is what people are looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Have a news tip or see an error that needs correction? Let us know.<\/a> Please include the article\u2019s headline in your message.<\/p>\n

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