Shuttling between donor meetings this week, Republican Senate candidate Derek Dooley pulled out his phone and delivered a former coach’s take on how to beat Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff .

“My first answer is simple: Just watch the tape. Watch the film,” he said. “Your film is your résumé.”

In his opening drive of his U.S. Senate bid, Dooley is leaning into his decades on the sidelines of college and NFL teams — warts and all — as a defining feature of his campaign.

Unlike his GOP rivals , Reps. Buddy Carter and Mike Collins, Dooley says he built a career mentoring young athletes rather than chasing elected office.

That means owning the low points too, including a three-year tenure at the University of Tennessee that ended with a 15-21 record and strained relations with donor

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