HUSL Today Salutes

Tony Dungy

Anthony Kevin "Tony" Dungy was born October 6, 1955 in Jackson, Michigan.  Dungy attended Parkside High School, where he played guard position on the basketball team and the quarterback position on the football team

Dungy was recruited by University of Minnesota coach Cal Stoll. Dungy played for the Golden Gophers from 1973 to 1976. He entered the starting lineup as a quarterback during his freshman year and after playing for four years finished as Minnesota's career leader in pass attempts (576), completions (274), touchdown passes (25), and passing yards (3,577). He also finished fourth in career total offense in the Big Ten Conference. He received Minnesota's Most Valuable Player award twice. Dungy also played basketball as a freshman.

Dungy's career has included several notable firsts. Among them, Dungy is the first NFL head coach to defeat all 32 NFL teams.He was also the youngest assistant coach at age 25 and the youngest coordinator at age 28 in NFL history. Dungy was the 1st black head coach to win the Super Bowl (with the Colts' victory over the Bears in 2007). He was however the 3rd black head coach to win a pro football championship in North America, behind Darren Arbet of the San Jose Sabercats (Arena Football League) who won ArenaBowl XVI in 2002 and Pinball Clemons of the Toronto Argonauts (Canadian Football League) who won the 92nd Grey Cup in 2004.

Check out the footage below of the Colts bringing home the championship.

Check the footage below where Dungy becomes the first African American coach to answer "I'm going to Disney World" when asked the now-traditional post superbowl win question:

Dungy also became the 6th man to play in a Super Bowl and be the head coach of a Super Bowl team. He joins Dan Reeves, Sam Wyche, Mike Ditka, Forrest Gregg and Tom Flores. After the win in Super Bowl XLI, Dungy became the 3rd man to win Super Bowls both as a player and a head coach, following Ditka and Flores.

"Our young men today are falling into a trap... Society is telling them material success is what's important, but if we buy into that idea, we can spend a lifetime chasing that success and never really have the positive impact on people that would make our lives truly significant."

 More inspiration when you read the rest.

What I admire most about Dungy is his openness about his faith and the things he believes Jesus has done for him. Check out his inspirational testimony at an NFL prayer dinner below.



Dungy's advice for new coaches:

Dungy's coaching style was the opposite of how most people perceived NFL coaches. He stressed that coaches are essentially teachers who put faith and family ahead of football and do not belittle their players or scream at them. Also, like Dungy, they remain calm when things go badly. They guide instead of goad. He also stressed that a team should have a thought process, a philosophy and the conviction to stick with it, even if the personnel changes during the games because of injuries These ideals were clear in Dungy's memoir, Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, and Priorities of a Winning Life, which was released on July 10, 2007 and reached No. 1 on the hardcover nonfiction section of the New York Times Best Seller list on August 5, 2007 and again on September 9, 2007.Tyndale House Publishers said it was the first NFL-related book ever ranked No. 1.When asked why he wrote Quiet Strength, Dungy said,

"It's not something I ever really thought of doing. I've had several people ask me about it for a number of years. Several people asked about it after winning (the Super Bowl). I was hoping, really, not to do it... I think it becomes kind of what happens. You win a Super Bowl, you have a big achievement, and you write a book. And I didn't want to be one of those guys, but a lot of people thought that it was the right time -- and it did turn out to be that. I think people were looking for something positive to read, and we had a lot of negative in the sports world. I think it just came out at the right time. Maybe the Lord's timing was good."

Dungy also published a 96-page paperback called Quiet Strength: Men's Bible Study on July 18, 2007. Continuing his publishing success, Dungy published a 24-page children's picture book called You Can Do It with Little Simon Inspirations on July 8, 2008. It reached No. 1 on the children's picture books section of the New York Times Best Seller list on July 27, 2008 and stayed on the top 10 for 5 weeks. Dungy has also published Uncommon: Finding Your Path to Significance it reached No. 2 on the hardcover advice section of the New York Times Best Seller list and stayed on the top 10 for 9 weeks.
Image source: http://a.abcnews.com/images/Sports/tony_dungy_080711_mn.jpg


On January 12, 2009, Jim Caldwell was chosen as the new head coach for the Indianapolis Colts after being named Dungy's future successor a year earlier. In June 2009, NBC Sports hired Dungy to serve as a studio color analyst on the network's weekly Sunday Night Football pregame show, Football Night in America. Dungy also works with various civic organizations such as Boys & Girls Club as well as Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

HUSL Today Salutes Tony Dungy!!