Dungy Retires

Tony Dungy has decided to retire as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. Dungy spent seven seasons in Indianapolis and the previous six in Tampa with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He has been extremely successful as coach of both teams. When he took the head coaching job for the Buccaneers, the Buccaneers had only made the playoffs three times in the past twenty years. In his six seasons alone in Tampa, the Buccaneers made the playoffs four times.

Dungy was fired in 2001 after the Buccaneers lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card Round. The Colts wasted no time picking him up. They did so a couple of months after. Dungy brought his success from Tampa to Indianapolis. The Colts have been to the playoffs every year since Dungy arrived. Dungy was 85-27 in his seven seasons as coach of the Colts, and 7-6 in the playoffs.

Dungy's biggest accomplishment was becoming the first black head coach to win a Super Bowl, winning Super Bowl XLI in Miami. The previos year, the Colts almost finished the season undefeated, starting 13-0 before their first loss. The season ended in disappointment as Dungy's oldest son James committed suicide, and then the Colts lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in their first playoff game.

Dungy is among the most successful head coaches and the most successful African-American head coach in the NFL. I think the Colts will probably struggle a bit in his absence, but as long as they have a healthy Peyton Manning, they will be making runs at championships every year. Dungy has affected many people in the NFL today, and his presence will be missed.