James Etheridge

Coach Dooley is gone. I pulled up social media yesterday and the first post I saw was from my friend Shad. I read her words and choked up. Over the last few weeks I knew they would come sooner than later. They were still a shock, nonetheless.

Vincent Joseph Dooley became the head football coach at Georgia in 1963. He was hired away from his alma mater Auburn University, where he was the freshman team coach. In the press conference, Georgia athletic director Joel Eaves could not remember Dooley’s name, instead introducing him as “that bright young coach.”

It was probably the last time Eaves, anyone familiar with the University of Georgia or all of college football for that matter, could not remember his name. Dooley found quick success in Athens, winning the Southeastern Conference Championship in 1966, his third season as head coach. His ‘three yards and a cloud of dust’ scheme drew criticism at times, particularly in the later years of his tenure when offenses were beginning to emphasize the passing game. But Coach Dooley’s philosophy of a strong running game, a strong defense and a strong kicking game stood the test of time. His record speaks for itself. Ironically, the most famous play of the Dooley Era and arguably the greatest play in Georgia football history was a passing play. “Left 76,” Buck Belue to Lindsay Scott, went 92 yards in the closing minutes of the 1980 Florida game, preserving the victory and the National Championship run.

I played Pop Warner football for the first time at the age of eight in 1963 and literally cannot remember Georgia football without Coach Dooley. I grew up a Georgia fan and had season tickets from 1982 until 1994. I also remember the “Dump Dooley” bumper stickers after his only losing season in 1977. That didn’t happen and three years later the 1980 team won the National Championship. Coach Dooley was in the stands for the 2021 Title Game and later on the field congratulating coach Kirby Smart after the Bulldogs finally buried the curse and beat Alabama.

I never met the man, but had several opportunities at Picture Day in Athens and again at The Atlanta Home & Garden Show, where he was signing the horticulture book he authored. I’m sorry now I never took advantage of the opportunity to shake his hand.

Today, one day after his death, the Bulldogs will tee it up against the Florida Gators in Jacksonville on the field which was the site of some of Coach Dooley’s greatest victories, including a Gator Bowl win against Michigan State on Jan 1, 1989, his last game as head coach. The old Gator Bowl stadium is long gone, torn down before it finally collapsed. A new one was built in its place around the same historic field.

At the opening home game in 2019, the field at Sanford Stadium in Athens was officially named Dooley Field. There is a bronze statue of Coach Dooley on Lumpkin Street in front of the athletic complex which bears his name. He is on the shoulders of two of his players after the 1980 Title Game victory over Notre Dame. The players’ numbers are 64 and 88, representing Dooley’s first and last seasons as head coach. Visitors are encouraged to ‘rub the foot’ of the #88 player on the right, whose left shoe extends over the base of the statue.

Vince Dooley’s name will be forever ingrained with the University of Georgia. Not only for his achievements as coach and athletic director, but for the countless lives he touched, influenced, molded and inspired. At age 87 he said, “I’m still learning.” And he taught so many so well. A job well done. A life well lived. A DGD. Godspeed, Coach. Go Dawgs!