Tony Dungy: One of the Most Respected Coaches of Our Time

As I'm sitting in my living room watching a late morning edition of SportsCenter, a breaking news story develops about Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy. He is set to announce his retirement from coaching in the NFL.

For those of you who have read my articles before, I'm sure you are aware of my love for the Philadelphia Eagles. This story should have no impact on my life or for my favorite football team, right?

Wrong.

Even though I am a die-hard Eagles fan, I have always seen Dungy as one of the most respected coaches in professional football. He may not show it through his emotions like other coaches we see in the NFL, but that's what you have to love about him. He has class.

I will be the first to admit that I had the wrong first impression of Dungy. When I started following him early in his career, I always saw him as the coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who could never finish the job completely. However, I never realized everything Dungy did for the organization.

In only his second season with the team in 1997, Dungy led the Buccaneers to their first winning season in 15 years. In that same season, Dungy led the Buccaneers to an opening round playoff win over the Detroit Lions before losing to the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round. One of the main reasons behind Dungy's success was the defensive system he helped install for the team.

Most fans complain about their favorite team letting them down season after season when they fail to make the Super Bowl. (I know, I am guilty of this with the Eagles.) Still, the Eagles were at least able to provide me with seven winning seasons and six playoff appearances during the same span that the Buccaneers had losing seasons.

The fact that Dungy was able to help turn around the Buccaneers' organization that quickly is phenomenal. He was giving the city of Tampa Bay and their fans something to be excited for.

Dungy never had a problem when it came to getting his team to the playoffs. Unfortunately, it would be his failure to advance to the Super Bowl that lost him his job in Tampa Bay.

In four playoff appearances under Dungy, the Buccaneers made it to the NFC Championship once. Before a wild card matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2002, they were made aware that Dungy's job status would rely on the outcome of the playoff game. The Eagles ended up defeating the Buccaneers 31-9 and Dungy was fired two days later.

Was it fair that Dungy was fired after what he did for the Buccaneers? Of course not.

Was it ironic that head coach Jon Gruden helped the Buccaneers win the Super Bowl the year after with a team that Dungy helped put together in his years in Tampa Bay? Of course.

However, I have always been one to believe that everything in this world happens for a reason.

Lucky for Dungy, the Indianapolis Colts were aware of how great a coach he was. Less than two weeks after being fired from the Buccaneers, the Colts hired Dungy as their new head coach. They were hoping that he could help improve a Colts team that had a strong offense led by All-Star Peyton Manning, but a defense that continued to struggle each season.

In his first few seasons as the head coach of the Colts, Dungy appeared to be in the same situation he was in when he was with the Buccaneers. Year after year, the Colts continued to make the playoffs but always fell short of the Super Bowl. They even made it to the AFC Championship round in 2003 only to lose to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

In 2007, Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts finally won their first Super Bowl under head coach Tony Dungy. He made his place in NFL history as he became the first African-American head coach to win a Super Bowl. However, there was another reason why this Super Bowl win was so remarkable for Dungy that year.

Towards the end of the regular season, his 18-year-old son James committed suicide in a Tampa Bay apartment building. This was a difficult situation for the Dungy family and the Colts organization.

We all have to deal with death at some point in our lives. What Dungy had to go through is unimaginable and nobody should ever have to deal with it.

After the death of his son, many of us expected Dungy to take a leave of absence. The best thing you can do in this situation is to take some time off to be with loved ones who will help you get through it.

Instead, Dungy decided not to take a leave of absence and continue to coach the Indianapolis Colts in the playoffs.

The run the Colts made to the Super Bowl that year fell nothing short of amazing. Whether it was their miraculous comeback against the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game after being down 21-3 at halftime or future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning finally getting his first career Super Bowl win, the Colts shocked the world.

Still, the fact that Dungy was able to lead his team to a Super Bowl win after everything he went through in his personal life that year makes a great story.

Dungy may not appear to be as intense as other coaches we see in the NFL today. Every time I watch the Colts play, Dungy is always on the sidelines, calm as a monk. He doesn't need to scream his lungs out to let his team know when they are doing something wrong.

He is the definition of the term "class." Whether you are a fan of the Colts or a fan of any of the other 31 teams in the NFL, you can't help but have respect for what he has done as a head coach in the NFL during his career.

I'm glad Dungy was finally able to win a Super Bowl as a head coach in the NFL when the Colts defeated the Bears in Super Bowl XL. He is a great guy with a great heart and I have nothing but the utmost respect for one of the greatest coaches in NFL history.