Vince Dooley, Legendary Georgia Bulldogs Football Coach, Dead at 90: ‘One of the Greatest’

Vince Dooley is best known for leading the Georgia Bulldogs to an undefeated season in 1980, and earning six NCAA Southeastern Conference championship titles throughout his career

Vince Dooley, the legendary University of Georgia Bulldogs football coach that led the team to multiple historic championship wins, has died. He was 90.

The school confirmed that Dooley died peacefully at his Athens home, surrounded by his wife, Barbara, and their four kids on Friday. An official cause of death was not revealed.

Dooley is best known for leading the Georgia Bulldogs team to 201 wins and 6 NCAA Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship titles during his 25-year tenure as head coach between 1964 – 1988, the school said.

His most successful year coaching came in 1980, when he led the team to an undefeated 12-0 season in the SEC. He also worked as athletic director for the team from 1979 to 2004, per the University of Georgia.

Dooley is recognized as the fourth all-time highest-winning football coach in SEC history, according to USA Today. He was inducted into the Georgia and Alabama Sports Hall of Fames, as well as the College Football Hall of Fame in 1994.

Earlier this month, Dooley had been hospitalized for a “mild case” of COVID-19. He was later released, saying in a statement that he would continue with upcoming book signings, ESPN reported.

Current and former Georgia Bulldogs coaches and staff posted on Twitter to remember the longtime coach.

Former Georgia coach and college football analyst Mark Richt called Dooley “one of the greatest coaches of all time,” and said he “owed a lot” to him for his mentorship.

Sorry to hear the news of coach Dooleys passing. Obviously one of the greatest coaches of all time. But also the man who hired me and mentored me in my first head coaching opportunity at Georgia. I owe a lot to Coach. May God bless Barbara and the rest of the Dooley family!

— Mark Richt (@MarkRicht) October 28, 2022

Current Georgia Bulldog coach Kirby Smart, who led the team to an SEC title win in 2021, tweeted that Dooley was a “one of a kind with an unmatched love for UGA” and that he “will be missed in our community, university, and in college athletics.”

The SEC said on Twitter that it will honor the late coach by airing the Georgia Bulldog’s 1980 championship victory over Notre Dame at 9 p.m. ET Friday evening.

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