IT’S ABOUT LEADERSHIP
As Derek Dooley used to say to his boys in the Tennessee locker room, “You’ll be on the field of battle as men in the arena, but I’ll be on the sidelines.” Dooley took that same approach to Donald Trump since 2016, and through all the president’s toughest battles.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported how Dooley’s political consultants view his lack of political record and willingness to support Donald Trump, or any MAGA candidates for that matter, as a strength.
POLITICAL PUNTING
Even though the Tennessee Volunteers paid Derek Dooley $5 million when they fired him, he smartly refused to donate any amount to President Trump or any MAGA candidates so it could not be used against him in any future political run or marketing deals with companies with ESG or DEI structured boards.
SPIN MOVE
Derek Dooley avoided voting for Donald Trump or any Republican candidates in Georgia primaries prior to 2024. This is a very hard thing to do considering his 57 years of living, but Coach has instincts that you just can’t train.
RELATABLE IN THE WORLD OF SYSTEMIC DISCRIMINATION
Derek Dooley understands what it’s like to be discriminated against. When he recently moved back to Georgia, he reached out to University of Georgia Head Coach Kirby Smart and asked about a job on the coaching staff. Sources familiar with the matter attribute the rebuff to Coach Smart’s desire to acquire another championship title, but Dooley believes he was rejected in part due to the long-held bias against Tennessee Volunteers and not being judged solely on his record of several dozen wins in a career of hundreds of attempts.
WEAK “I” FORMATION
Derek Dooley is one of the only candidates who can bring Niki Haley and Mitt Romney republicans back into the fold for the general election. The political advisors who will be guiding his campaign are veterans of Romney for President, Senator Joe Liberman, Speaker Paul Ryan’s political operation and even Mike Pence’s failed 2024 Iowa run.
HARD TARGET TO HIT
Unlike the running backs he coached, Derek Dooley will be a hard target to hit for his opponents. He’s never had to publicly debate his political positions, and he has no contributions to conservative candidates or causes, except that of his brother’s one-time roommate. Even though he has a social media following and access to the press, Dooley has never made any commentary to his followers to get out and support President Trump or MAGA candidates. Even though President Trump held over 900 rallies over the last decade including in the states outside of Georgia where Dooley resided, coach juked and spin-moved to avoid every single one.
Coach Dooley was able to outsmart and outwit inferior “football personalities” who publicly supported Trump like Brett Farve, Tommy Tuberville, Jim Brown, Jay Cutler, John Elway, Mike Ditka, Lou Holtz, Ed Orgeron, Burgess Owens, Mike Shula, and UGA’s own Herschel Walker.
Speaking of Herschel Walker, Derek Dooley was one of the only mid-level analysts in the country who saw how much of a disaster a Herschel Walker candidacy with a Trump endorsement would be for a general election. Even though Walker was the 1982 Heisman winner on the better known and more personable late coach Vince Dooley’s 1980 championship team, his son Derek refused to contribute or publicly support Walker’s candidacy.
UNIQUE & COMPETITIVE PERSPECTIVE
ON REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
As a trained lawyer married to an OBGYN, Derek Dooley has a higher understanding of complicated issues such as reproductive rights. Derek’s wife, Allison, would likely be the only spouse in the 2026 election whose work history includes providing services regardless of sexual orientation and a safe place for teens to make choices for their body. With a perspective based in law, science and compassion, Derek will be able to appeal to moderate and left-leaning women on an issue that’s important to them by meeting them where they are.
HOTTER THAN A TWO DOLLAR PISTOL FORMATION
Even though Coach Dooley is known for avoiding the shotgun formation in devastating loses to Vanderbilt and Kentucky you can rest assured should far-right gun groups like National Association of Gun Rights, Gun Owners of America, or American Firearms Association question his commitment, Coach Dooley’s team stands ready to showcase multiple shotguns on loan from Kelly Loeffler or any fully, semi-automatic revolvers, domestically manufactured, of course.
REVERSE, REVERSE, SLIDE TO THE LEFT
When hardcore conservative candidates and MAGA warriors are held back by ideological turf toe, Derek Dooley will be the only candidate who will be able to advertise “conservative” positions in a primary, but then reverse the play to the left for the general. With no voting history or public positions of any kind, only Derek Dooley has the ability to be properly coached by pollsters and political consultants to outmaneuver the competition.
RUN OUT THE CLOCK
Only Derek Dooley and his team will be able to run out the clock with a late summer entry into the U.S. Senate race and limit the number of scrimmage matches, GOP meetings, and public speaking events across the state. That will leave the undisciplined campaigns with a record of traveling around Georgia and being accessible to Republican voters on the field to tire themselves out.
COACH MAGA
Coach Dooley has the MAGA—Missing in Georgia’s Action—credentials to win, spending the last two decades away from Georgia’s toughest conservative battles while filling various coaching roles at LSU, Tennessee, and Alabama.
