Mr. CFB: Georgia Will Miss Coach Dooley, Other Legends vs. Ohio State

Georgia has a chance to reach its third national championship game since 2017.

It is an image that will stay with me forever.

Georgia had just beaten Alabama 33-18 in Indianapolis to win the CFP national championship. It was the Bulldogs’ first national title since 1980.

Embracing on the field were the head coach of Georgia’s newly-minted national champion, Kirby Smart, and the legendary coach, Vince Dooley, the architect of the team had won it all 41 years ago.

Both men had delivered college football’s biggest prize to their school. Vince Dooley invested 41 years as coach and athletics director at Georgia. Smart was an All-SEC player at Georgia and returned to Athens in 2016 to create this very moment.

Accordingly, we knew they would forever more be connected.

That was Jan. 10, 2022.

On Sept. 4 Coach Dooley turned 90 years old. On Oct. 28, less than 24 hours before Georgia would play Florida in Jacksonville, he was gone. And that image of the two Georgia coaches embracing in ultimate victory, became a moment for the ages.

Saturday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia will play in yet another landmark game under Smart. The No. 1 Bulldogs, now reigning national champions, will play No. 4 Ohio State in the semifinals of the of the College Football Playoff. The winner advances to the national title game in Los Angeles on Jan. 9.

Saturday will be the biggest game Georgia has played without Coach Dooley in attendance. 

There are a lot of great Bulldogs who can’t be in Atlanta Saturday because they are now Between the Heavenly Hedges. This is a very short list of six Bulldogs legend I wish could be at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for this game. There could easily be 50 more.

Vince Dooley: Georgia’s all-time winner with 201 victories, six SEC championships, and one national championship. He won every award that is given to those who serve in college athletics. Was named to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1994.

Erk Russell: Was Vince Dooley’s defensive coordinator for 17 seasons (1964-1980). Left Athens to build a national championship program at the I-AA level at Georgia Southern. When Vince Dooley retired as coach after the 1988 season, Russell was a candidate to replace him. Georgia instead hired former player Ray Goff. Erk was the greatest motivator of people that I have ever met.

Dan Magill: Considered by many (including this writer) to be the greatest Bulldog of them all. Daniel Hamilton Magill, Jr. did everything at Georgia. He built the network of Georgia Bulldog Clubs throughout the state—one for each of the state’s 159 counties. He built Georgia tennis into a national power and became the most successful coach in the history of the sport. He was a long-time sports information director. He died on Aug. 23, 2014 at the age of 93. No man has ever loved Georgia more than Coach Magill.

Larry Munson: The legendary radio voice of the Georgia from 1966 to 2008. Munson, a native of Minnesota, was the voice of Vanderbilt football and basketball before he took a job with the Atlanta Braves, who were moving from Milwaukee in 1966. At the same time the Georgia radio job came open. Magill hired Munson and he would stay for 42 years. He retired two games into the 2008 season and died on Nov. 20, 2011. His memorial service was held at Sanford Stadium. He would love to be calling this game Saturday night.

Charley Trippi: With all due respect to Herschel Walker, Charley Trippi was considered to be the greatest athlete to ever play football at Georgia. He was the runner for the Heisman Trophy in 1946. He is in both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He died on Oct. 19, 2022 at the age of 100.

Lewis Grizzard: The well-known Southern humorist who loved his Georgia Bulldogs more than anything in the world. A native of Moreland, Ga., Lewis became the sports editor of the Atlanta Journal at the age of 23. Then became the executive sports editor of the Chicago Sun-Times. He hated it because Chicago was too far away from his beloved Bulldogs. So he came home an wrote the book “If I ever get back to Georgia I’m going to nail my feet to the ground.” He eventually left Sports and became a general columnist, which is where he earned his greatest fame. He died after surgery on March 20, 1994. He was only 47.

There are so many more we could include here but, as Munson would say, you get the picture.

Here is my list: What is yours?