A glorious yet sad day in the NFL as one of the greatest coaches of all time has called it a day. That coach, of course is Tony Dungy.
Even though he stepped down as the Colts’ head coach, he will always be in my football heart, one of the Tampa Bay BUCCANEERS.
He took one of the worst franchises in history and made them a respectable playoff contender. After 1997, teams didn’t look forward to coming to Florida to play the BUCS, especially the defense. That first win in 1997 against San Francisco started it all. I was there to watch us shock the NFL by beating the 49ers, 13-6.
I was there, at the last game in Tampa (Houlihan’s) Stadium, a playoff win against the Lions. And, I was there among the crowd to congratulate Coach Dungy, for a great season, after the divisional round loss to the Packers.
Even in defeat in the NFC Championship, he dismantled one of the biggest scoring offenses in NFL history, holding them to a mere 11 points (2 of which came off a botched snap by the BUCS, that led to a safety).
My voice was among the shock and angry masses, when Dungy got fired in 2001. In fact, the ONLY way that BUCS fans were able to get over that debacle is what happened the following year. And, no disrespect to Jon Gruden (and even he acknowledged this himself), but without that foundation laid by Dungy, the BUCS don’t win that Super Bowl in 2002. I know they don’t give away complimentary Super Bowl rings, but if anyone deserves one, it’s Dungy.
Whether you’re a Colts fan or a Bucs fan, you’re saddened by this day. This guy was a class act and a beloved community figure (in both Indianapolis and the Tampa Bay area). Whoever said that nice guys finish last apparently didn't get that memo to Tony Dungy.
