By Tom James, NHI Indiana
INDIANAPOLIS — On Monday, Tony Dungy finally answered a higher calling.
After 13 seasons as a head coach in the National Football League, seven with the Indianapolis Colts, Dungy has called it quits. He announced his retirement during an emotion-packed press conference Monday afternoon at the Colts’ team complex.
Officially, the Jackson, Mich., native has decided to retire from the game he loves so much. Taking a week to contemplate his decision, he will now head back home to Tampa, Fla., in order to spend more time with his wife, Lauren, and their five children.
Team officials plan to introduce the Colts’ new head coach, former assistant head coach/quarterbacks coach Jim Caldwell, at a noon press conference today. But Monday’s media event was all about Dungy, his family and his contributions to the city of Indianapolis, the franchise and to the league as a whole.
“It’s funny. You really don’t think about this or preparing something for when you retire. I’ve been blessed, tremendously blessed, to play three years in the NFL and coach 28 (years). Those 31 years have been fantastic,” Dungy said after listening to opening comments from team owner Jim Irsay and team president Bill Polian.
“I would like to thank my mom and dad for raising me right and teaching me how to treat people. And that was probably the most important lesson I ever learned in life, and I got that from them. I had a chance to grow and play for some great coaches in high school and college. And then I got to the NFL and played for Coach (Chuck) Noll (with the Pittsburgh Steelers), and I learned not only how to live and how to treat people, but how to play the game and ultimately how to coach the game. And then I got married in 1982, and my wife Lauren became my confidante and my counselor and my best friend. I learned a lot from her, and she’s been by my side now for 27 years. Been there through the ups and downs, and I definitely want to thank her and our family. It’s tough in this business without the support of your family. And I’ve certainly had that.”
For Dungy, family obligations have always come first. No more late-week commutes, flying from Indiana to Florida during the season in order to watch his oldest son, Eric, play high school football. A senior at Plant High School in Tampa in the fall, he excelled as a safety for the Class 4A state champions this past season and will begin making college visits soon.
And he’ll be able to spend more quality time with a younger son, Jordan, who has been experiencing medical issues and who underwent surgery last week in New York City for a broken leg he suffered six weeks ago. Dungy also will continue to be involved with his many philanthropic and faith-based causes, such as devoting more time to working with youth and prison ministries in both Indianapolis and Tampa.
But it’s what he’s accomplished as a head coach in the NFL — a 139-60 record (an average of 10.7 wins per season), 11 combined playoff appearances with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Colts, 10 double-digit win seasons, an 85-27 record with Indianapolis, five AFC South championships and one Super Bowl title (2006) — that Dungy will be most remembered for.
“I had a chance to work for some other great coaches, and I learned a lot from each one of them. Just have to thank Marty Schottenheimer, Denny Green, Bill Walsh and guys who helped shape me. And then I got a chance to become a head coach 13 years ago. (Team owner) Malcolm Glazer just gave me a tremendous opportunity (at Tampa Bay). I thank the Glazer family for letting me get started as a head coach and for the great time that I had in Tampa,” he said.
“And then seven years ago, I had a chance to come (to Indianapolis). And I’ll never forget Jim (Irsay) calling me and saying what he wanted to do. And he said something that was very important to me. He said, ‘You know, here in Indianapolis, we don’t have the tradition. We don’t have the three and four generations of Colts fans. And we have to connect with our community, and we have to turn our young people into Colts fans. And that’s what I want to do by winning and by winning the right way.’ And that was very enticing to me. Right after that, I met with Bill (Polian), and we were in a little hotel down in Tampa. And we talked about six hours about philosophy and how you win. And it became very evident then to me that this was the place to be.
“From day one, you think optimistically. That this is going to be a great job. We’re going to win, this is going to be a great place to live. And these seven years have been better than I could have ever imagined because of the people that Jim Irsay has here, the way that he’s built the organization. Everybody that goes into making the Colts what they are, it is so special. I just have to thank every one of them,” Dungy continued.
“We’ve had a tremendous (coaching) staff in place for the last seven years, so I want to thank them. It’s been very, very special. It was a perfect storm. The Lord brought people with the same vision, some great players, some great leaders on the team, that allowed us to stay focused on the goal for seven years. That’s why it was always fun to come to work, because we had everybody pulling in the same direction. And it’s not often when you have that.”
While the decision to retire didn’t come all that easily, it was something that has been in back of his mind since 2005. Both Dungy and his wife have discussed what they wanted to do after each successive season. This time, though, the situation was right.
“I’m thankful to the Lord for the career that I’ve had. My wife and I talked, and we just felt that this was the right time. You don’t always get to go out on top. It’s hard to go out on top because it’s so much fun winning. When you’re winning, you don’t want to stop,” he explained.
“But I think I’ve got a chance to do some other things down the road. I think I’ve got a responsibility to be home a little bit more, to be available to my family a little bit more. And to try to do some things to help make our country better. I don’t know what that’s going to be, but I hope to do that. But I wouldn’t trade these 31 years in for anything. I wouldn’t trade these seven that I’ve had here. This has been very, very special. All of you have been part of it. I thank you. I thank our staff. I thank Jim and Bill. I thank Lauren and my daughter Tiara (who was on hand for the press conference). It’s been awesome. It’s been special. So don’t shed any tears for me. I’ve gotten to live a dream that most people don’t get to live. What Phase Two (of his life) is, we’ll find out. But Phase One’s been awfully special and awfully sweet. And I’m thankful for it.”
