What People Are Saying About Coach Dungy

Dungy's 'Quiet Strength' Fires Up Jefferson Students
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I congratulate the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, Tony Dungy. (Applause.) And I'm glad his wife, Lauren, is here, as well. Tony Dungy is the first African American coach to ever win a Super Bowl. (Applause.) That, in itself, is a great honor. But interestingly enough, he is a man who has used his -- a position of notoriety to behave in a quiet and strong way in the face of personal tragedy that has influenced a lot of our fellow citizens. And I want to thank you for your courage. (Applause.)
George W. Bush

“If Tony Dungy were a presidential candidate, the Indianapolis Colts football coach might get pounded by critics for mixing his faith and work. But his low-key, humble manner seems to disarm even skeptical reporters who show grudging respect for his Christian faith and good works.”
Russ Pulliam
World Magazine
“(Tony’s dad) never talked about himself or his achievements. Tony doesn't either, even though he has a long list of accomplishments. His most recent one is becoming one of the two first African-American (head) coaches to make it to the Super Bowl, along with his friend and protégé Lovie Smith. Humility does not mean you think less of yourself, it just means you think more of others. That's who Tony Dungy is. Always deflecting the attention and credit to others -- his coaches, his players, his father and mother, his wife and children.”
Mark W. Merrill
Indianapolis Star
“In the African-American community, the excitement of having Dungy and Chicago's Lovie Smith -- two of the league's six coaches who happen to be members of said community -- make history by becoming the first such coaches to reach pro football's biggest game (played during Black History Month, no less) is similar to when Halle Berry and Denzel Washington and Jamie Foxx won Oscars for leading roles. The difference is that awards and elections are subjective. Having two coaches whose skin happens to be darker than most of their peers lead teams to the Super Bowl simply is the inevitable result of equal opportunity.”

 

Michael Smith
ESPN.com
“The greatest man I’ve ever met in my life.”
Warren Sapp
Oakland Raiders
“For a long while, I always admired Dungy's class and dignity when NFL owners weren't quite as liberal in their hiring policies of African Americans as head coaches. For years as an assistant in Pittsburgh, Kansas City and Minnesota, Dungy's name was always being floated for a head job here or there. But most years, he was barely able to get an interview. If he did pout, it must have been in private, because there was never a public tantrum, as far as I can tell. He earned his first head coaching job the old-fashioned way, building a body of work as a defensive coach in Pittsburgh under Chuck Noll that was as impressive as any in the field and impossible to ignore.”
Leonard Shapiro
Washington Post
“At the funeral, do you know who he thanked? He thanked the owner of the Tampa Bay team (Malcolm Glazer). This is the guy who let him go. That’s letting you know, ‘It’s cool. I’m not sweating stuff.’ That stood out. Through all that drama … he put that past him. He thanked the dude for everything he had done for his son.”

 

Edgerrin James
Arizona Cardinals
“And this is only one stranger whom Tony Dungy has befriended. There’s the former high school coach in Wisconsin whose son committed suicide. There’s the young kid in Indianapolis who lost his mother and brother in a car wreck. Heartbroken people all over are suddenly getting a hand up from a man who himself should be a puddle but is instead a river of strength. Yet Dungy refuses to talk to the media about these good deeds, which only makes them better.”

 

Rick Reilly
Sports Illustrated
“I just wanted to let you know I've read most of Tony Dungy's book Quiet Strength and I must say it is one the best Christian witness publications I have ever read. I think because I love football, and have certainly followed Tony Dungy and have always enjoyed his coaching philosophy and techniques, that I have easily understood and clearly seen God's hand in his life as he speaks in this book. It is a very timely book for me. It has helped me a great deal in getting my priorities straight and has helped me work on my attitude and where it should be in relation to family, friends, co-workers. There are many, many wonderful insights that have helped me understand my own failings and instead of just chalking up another loss, I need to change my "losing mentality" into a more positive approach to how can I learn from my mistakes and make a similar situation better when the opportunity comes again.”

 

Tom Georgopulos