Derek Dooley (American football)
A coach and attorney who navigated the intense pressures of Southeastern Conference football, leaving a complex legacy at the University of Tennessee.
Born 1968 (age 58)·American football player and coach·Birthday: June 10·Generation X
Biography
Derek Dooley pursued law before football pulled him back. Son of Georgia coach Vince Dooley, he earned a JD and worked at a firm. He then joined Nick Saban's staff at LSU and later the Miami Dolphins as an assistant. His first head coaching job at Louisiana Tech showed promise, leading to the rebuilding effort at Tennessee. His tenure in Knoxville mixed bad luck, controversial decisions, and NCAA issues inherited from the previous staff, ending with his dismissal. He later returned to Saban at Alabama as an offensive analyst, respected for his tactical mind away from the spotlight.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Derek was born in 1968, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Derek Was Born
The biggest hits of 1968
#1 Movie
2001: A Space Odyssey
Best Picture
Oliver!
#1 TV Show
The Andy Griffith Show
Derek's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1968Born
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1973Started school
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1981Became a teenager
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1984Could drive
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1986Could vote
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1989Turned 21
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1998Turned 30
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 40
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2018Turned 50
Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan; Parkland shooting
Gas: $2.72/galHome: $211,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"God's Plan" — DrakeBest Picture: Green Book
2026Age 58 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Served as the head football coach at the University of Tennessee from 2010 to 2012.
- Previously served as head coach at Louisiana Tech University, leading them to a 2008 Independence Bowl victory.
- Earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Georgia and is a member of the Georgia State Bar.
- Worked as a senior offensive analyst for Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide, contributing to multiple championship-contending teams.
Did You Know?
He is fluent in French, a skill he honed while attending high school in Brussels, Belgium.
Dooley worked as an attorney at the powerful law firm Sutherland Asbill & Brennan in Atlanta before coaching full-time.
He and his wife, Allison, are both graduates of the University of Virginia.
His father, Vince Dooley, is in the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach.
“You're either getting better or you're getting worse. You never stay the same.”
