Could Saturday’s Colts-Chargers Game Be Tony Dungy’s Last Game as Colts Head Coach?
Colts fans most likely do not want to be reminded of this, but there is a very real chance that tomorrow’s Colts-Chargers game could be last game of Tony Dungy’s illustrious head coaching career.
If the Colts lose to the Chargers.
And if Tony Dungy does, in fact, decide to retire.
How real is the possibility? According to a report by Ed Werder on ESPN.com, the possibility, at least, is very real.
When the Indianapolis Colts conclude their season, coach Tony Dungy intends to spend the first full week of his offseason deliberating whether to return or retire from the NFL.
“I’ve really enjoyed the season,” said Dungy, who acknowledged having three-time league MVP Peyton Manning at quarterback and a team with 12-win talent makes leaving difficult. “It was really a unique challenge to be 3-4 and then see our team really come together the way that it has to make the playoffs.”
Dungy said when he leaves the NFL he will do so with the expectation of never returning. That’s the reason he wants to take his time, preferring to make a logical choice rather than an emotional decision he might later regret.
Dungy has taken this same approach the past four years. Each time, Dungy acknowledged, he began the playoffs with the belief he would retire at the end of the postseason. But he has changed his mind each time.
There is more interesting stuff in Werder’s report if you follow the link above. As Werder reports, and as many Colts fans know, Dungy has been commuting back and from Tampa to Indianapolis so that he can watch his son Eric’s football games. This was one of the arrangements offered by Jim Irsay to convince Dungy to stay another season.
As observed by Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk, there was talk among many in the league the Colts’ 3-4 start to this season might have had something to do with the speculation that Dungy already had one foot out the door. Obviously no one is saying that now, as the Colts have won nine straight, are in the playoffs, and once again had an MVP season from Peyton Manning.
From Werder’s report, it does not necessarily sound like Tony Dungy is leaning one way or the other. I am sure that every Colts fan, and most NFL fans, would love to see Tony Dungy stay in Indianapolis. As Florio also observes, Tony Dungy is often treated with kid gloves by the media. But you know what? I think in a lot of ways that Dungy has earned it.
Tony Dungy is proof positive than an NFL coach does not need to spend 20 hours a day at the office, and does not need to be a surly jerk to gain the respect of his players and peers. He is, by all accounts, a good a decent man who has also received a tremendous amount of much deserved sympathy after the tragic suicide of his son a few years ago. Tony Dungy treats the media (although perhaps not the injury report) with respect, as opposed to condescension; if that earns him a little more leeway from the media, then good for him.
As many of my Indianapolis friends know, I am not a Colts fan. In fact, I grew up in Indiana hating the Colts. I grew up a Dolphins fan and have become a die-hard Browns fan over the last decade. Obviously I am not rooting for the Browns in the playoffs (what a laughable thought after this season), but I do have the Dolphins to root for. But if the Dolphins are out of it, I will officially become a Colts fan.
I would love to have Tony coach my team any day, and I cannot think of a better story (other than the Dolphins winning the Super Bowl after going 1-15 last year) than the Colts rising from 3-4 to win the Super Bowl, and then Tony Dungy riding off into the sunset, awaiting his call for the Hall of Fame.
So I sincerely hope that the Colts beat the Chargers tomorrow night, and that it is not Tony Dungy’s final game either way. If for some reason it is, Tony Dungy will forever have my respect and appreciation as a football fan for being a great coach, a great man, and a great role model. Most NFL coaches earn respect based on their wins and losses. Tony Dungy is one coach who has everyone’s respect and admiration regardless of the Ws and Ls.
The fact that Tony Dungy wins more than just about any modern coach, except for maybe Bill Belichick, is just icing on the cake. In terms of class and integrity, of course, Tony Dungy and Bill Belichick cannot even really be compared. It wouldn’t be fair to compare Bill Belichick to someone who is so obviously out of his league.
So get a W tomorrow Colts, and then a few more after that. If this is the last go around for Tony Dungy, I’d like to see it last as long as possible.
Tags: Indianapolis Colts, NFL, tony dungy
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If he does in fact retire this year, I think that the Colts will be a middle of the road team at best next season only because of the coaching changes that will go on.
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JRod Reply:
January 3rd, 2009 at 11:01 am
@Chris Thompson, I see your thinking, but I’m not so sure. I think that part of the greatness of Tony Dungy is that it is not all about him. By that I mean, he sets the overall tone and provides leadership, but he delegates authority and builds leaders underneath him.
As long as Peyton Manning is around, the Colts offense will continue to play well. And the Colts already have their head-coach-in-waiting in Jim Caldwell. Plus, I think Dungy has relinquished some control over the past few seasons to let the other leaders on the coaching staff step up and prepare for his ultimate departure. I think the coaching changes could actually be much more seamless in Indy than they would be anywhere else.
There is no way that the Colts would not miss Tony Dungy, but I also would not take it as any kind of lessening of his greatness if the Colts continue to roll again next year. That they very well could is part of what makes him great.
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Where are the Indy Colt bars in Chicago? I heard mullins was pretty cool?
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JRod Reply:
January 3rd, 2009 at 2:11 pm
@JE, I’m not totally sure, as I don’t live in Chicago. But I just looked a Mullins’ website and it looks like a pretty sweet place to watch the game. And they five locations around Chicago. I’m sure they’ll have the game on, at the very least.
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