On Friday, Oct. 28, the world became a lesser place as Vincent Joseph Dooley, whom many respectfully just addressed as “Coach,” left this life.
Since I was a senior at Notre Dame who attended the Sugar Bowl at the end of the 1980 college football season, and I am also an alumnus of Georgia Tech, you can probably figure out that I am not a Georgia Bulldogs fan. However, I am proud to say that I consider Coach Dooley to have been a role model and a friend. I am able to turn my head to my left and see a picture of Coach Dooley and me hung in a prominent space in my office.
Ironically, I first met Coach Dooley on the campus of Georgia Tech in November 1990, the first football season after he completed his coaching career at Georgia. Coach Dooley was with Georgia Tech head football coach, Bobby Ross and they were about to head to an Atlanta television studio to tape Coach Dooley’s weekly show, where the two were going to discuss the upcoming Georgia Tech-Virginia football game that was taking place at Virginia two days later.
It was my great fortune to spend about 15-20 minutes talking football with two great coaches before one of Georgia Tech’s greatest, biggest games ever. However, little did I know that starting about 19 years later, I would be fortunate enough to spend much more quality time with Coach Dooley.
In December 2009, then Kennesaw State University (KSU) President, Dan Papp named Coach Dooley to chair a committee to consider bringing a football program to KSU, and I was named to the committee. The committee had four sub-committees, and while I did not chair any of the sub-committees, I worked closely with each of the four chairs in developing their findings. Therefore, my role involved a significant amount of interaction with Coach Dooley, which also helped us develop a relationship for the next 5-10 years.
During those 5-10 years, my time spent with Coach Dooley spanned many types of meetings and events. We had a good number of lunches together, typically in small groups of 3-5, at places ranging from fancy country clubs to inexpensive local establishments. We often attended much larger events together related to the launching of KSU football.
No matter the instance, Coach Dooley was always the same person…humble and always most courteous and respectful to all. The more time I spent with Coach Dooley, the more respect I had for him and the more I hoped I could emulate him. I also wished that others could have been fortunate enough to learn from the examples I provide below.
Coach Dooley was as accomplished in his profession as just about anyone I know. Most college football fans, particularly those of the University of Georgia, know about his accomplishments as a coach.
As head coach of the Dawgs for 25 seasons, from 1964 through 1988, he won 201 games, 6 Southeastern Conference (SEC) titles, and one national championship. His coaching prowess led to his election to the College Football Hall of Fame (more on that later), and the Georgia and Alabama Sports Halls of Fame.
While all acknowledge that he was a very good football coach, he was an even better Athletic Director at UGA. During his 25 years (1979-2004) as Athletic Director, UGA teams won 23 national championships and 78 SEC championships. In addition to his outstanding ability to “coach coaches,” he also demonstrated a business acumen to turn UGA Athletics into the financial powerhouse it is today.
However, all of these accomplishments pale in comparison to the type of man Coach Dooley was. I am sure that his players recognized this, as did his colleagues in the coaching and athletics administration professions. This shines through from the many recognitions he received from his colleagues and the great words and sentiments of his former players. I was fortunate to see some of this up close and I just want to share a couple of anecdotes that tell you much about the man and what we can learn from him.
As I mentioned above, I shared a number of lunches with Coach Dooley, and before, during, and after those lunches, I learned how bothersome being a celebrity could potentially be, but also how you treat people, no matter your station in life.
I learned very quickly that there was probably no more recognizable figure in Georgia than Vince Dooley. Wherever we were, people quickly recognized him and engaged him.
I could see how this could be quite bothersome. However, Coach Dooley always treated people respectfully and with the utmost courtesy. He would always honor people’s requests for pictures or even a short conversation. Occasionally, he would ask people if they could wait a short time, but he always did it in a kind and graceful way and always made people feel special and engaged.
I think we can all learn from these interactions that nothing promotes good fellowship among other people than treating them kindly and respectfully. Coach Dooley never had to think about doing that; it was second nature to him.
Prior to Kennesaw State’s first season of college football in 2015, I was honored to be invited, along with my wife and a few others, including Coach Dooley, to represent KSU at a dinner at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, the night before the Big South Conference’s media day.
When we were sitting for dinner, Coach Dooley insisted that we sit at the “first” KSU table, while he went to sit at the secondary table. I remarked to my wife that the only person who could have entered the Hall of Fame that night without a ticket was so humble that he wanted us to have the spotlight he deserved.
For those inclined, pick up your Bibles and go to Luke 14:7-11, and you will see the lesson of humility that Coach Dooley demonstrated to us that night.
On Friday, Oct. 28, I shed some tears at the passing of one of the best men I have ever known. But I take solace that those of us he touched will do our best to live up to his example of trying to make the world a better place.
