After spending the first ten years of his adult life at Auburn, Dooley was hired as head coach at Georgia. In his 25 seasons, he averaged over eight wins a year, won six Southeastern Conference championships and one National Championship in 1980. After the 1980 national championship season, Vince Dooley was offered the head coaching position at Auburn, encouraged by his former Auburn teammate and Alabama Governor Fob James. However, Dooley eventually declined the job, which went to Georgia alumnus Pat Dye. In his first three seasons at Georgia, Vince Dooley went 3–0 versus Georgia Tech's Bobby Dodd. Ironically, Dooley was influenced by Dodd's style and approach to the game, and he was the first recipient of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award. At the time of his retirement, he was the second-winningest coach in SEC history, behind only Bear Bryant.
After leading UGA to 201 victories, 6 SEC championships, and one national championship as head football coach, Dooley retired to focus on his post as athletic director, which he had held since 1979. Dooley built Georgia into one of the most successful athletic programs in America. During his time as athletic director he hired former football coach Mark Richt from Florida State University. 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. Dooley is a member of the Gridiron Secret Society. On December 2, 2009, Kennesaw State University hired Dooley to begin working as a consultant to KSU in the school's drive to start a football program. Another hobby of Dooley's is gardening, about which he has published a book. Dooley has also partnered with Mascot Books to publish two children's books about the UGA mascot, How 'Bout Them Dawgs! and Hairy Dawg's Journey Through the Peach State. Dooley served as Chairman of the Board of Curators for the Georgia Historical Society from 2016–2018.
Awards and honors
Dooley was inducted in the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1978, the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1984, and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1994. He 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 2007, Dooley was given the Homer Rice Award, the highest honor given by the Division I-A Athletic Directors Association. In 2007, Dooley was honored as a Star of the South by Irish America magazine. Dooley was inducted as a Georgia Trustee in 2011. Given by the Georgia Historical Society, in conjunction with the Governor of Georgia, to individuals whose accomplishments and community service reflect the ideals of the founding body of Trustees, which governed the Georgia colony from 1732 to 1752. During a ceremony on January 25, 2013, he was inducted into the Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame. In 2018, the Georgia Historical Society established the Vincent J. Dooley Distinguished Fellows Program in honor of Dooley. The Dooley Distinguished Fellows Program is designed to accomplish two goals consistent with Coach Dooley's life and legacy: recognizing senior scholars in the field of history and mentoring and developing emerging historians. Historian David Blight and author Rick Atkinson have been named Vincent J. Dooley Distinguished Teaching Fellows. On September 7, 2019, the football field at the University of Georgia was renamed "Dooley Field" in honor of the coach.
