Vince Dooley

Vincent Joseph Dooley (born September 4, 1932 in Mobile, Alabama) was the head football coach (seasons 1964 through 1988) and athletic director (1979 to 2004) at the University of Georgia. During his 25 year coaching career at UGA, Dooley compiled a 201-77-10 record. His teams won 6 Southeastern Conference titles and the 1980 National Championship. After the 1980 season, Dooley was recognized as college football's "Coach of the Year" by several organizations, including the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, whose annual award has since been renamed as the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award. Dooley's teams were known for their hard nosed defense and conservative yet fundamentally sound offenses. From 1964 to 1980, Dooley was notably assisted by his Defensive Coordinator, Erskine "Erk" Russell.

Dooley is a graduate of Auburn University (bachelor's degree 1954, Master's in history 1963) where he played college football and later coached under Ralph "Shug" Jordan. He grew up in Mobile, and attended the McGill Institute, administered by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart. Dooley competed on behalf of McGill's athletic teams, known as the Yellow Jackets, and for a few years considered basketball to be his best sport.

Dooley was inducted in the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1978 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1994. and received the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award, presented by the American Football Coaches Association in 2001. In 2004 the U.S. Sports Academy presented Dooley with the Carl Maddox Sport Management Award, an award given annually to an individual for contribution to the growth and development of sports through management practices. Also in 2004 Dooley was inducted into UGA's Circle of Honor, which is the school's highest tribute to former athletes and coaches. In September of 2007, Dooley was given the Homer Rice Award, the highest honor given by the Division 1-A Athletic Directors Association.

Trivia

• Dooley briefly pursued the Democratic Party nomination for U.S. Senate in 1986. His wife, the former Barbara Meshad, ran in the Republican Party primary for U.S. House in 2002.
• In 1980, Vince Dooley was offered the available coaching position at Auburn University, encouraged by his former Auburn teammate and Alabama Governor Fob James. However, Dooley eventually declined the job, which went to Georgia alumnus Pat Dye.
• His brother, Bill Dooley, worked on his staff at Georgia before becoming a notable college Head Coach in his own right at the University of North Carolina (from 1967 to 1977), Virginia Tech (1978 to 1986) and Wake Forest (1987 to 1992). In the 1971 Gator Bowl, played in Jacksonville, Florida, the two brothers found themselves on opposing sidelines. This experience proved uncomfortable for both men, and it was not repeated.
• His son, Derek Dooley, is the current head coach at Louisiana Tech University and a former assistant coach for the NFL's Miami Dolphins. Derek is also a former assistant at Georgia and at LSU.[1]
• Dooley is an honorary brother of the Delta Rho chapter of Phi Kappa Theta social fraternity.

Coaching Record

See also

• Georgia Bulldogs Football
• List of presidents of the American Football Coaches Association

References

• The New Georgia Encyclopedia (November 9, 2004). "Vince Dooley (b. 1932)". Retrieved 13 May 2005.

External links

• The Official Athletics Site of the Georgia Bulldogs
• Georgia Sports Hall of Fame

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