Tony Dungy talks Colin Kaepernick controversy, upcoming 2016 NFL season
By Jack Crosby
Hall of Fame head coach Tony Dungy took the time to sit down and talk a variety of topics about the 2016 NFL season
There have been many head coaches that have come through the ranks of the NFL, but few will truly be remembered as one of the greats. Former NFL head coach and current NBC personality Tony Dungy is one of them.
Dungy was a head coach in the NFL from 1996-2008, compiling a record of 139-69 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Indianapolis Colts. Of course, the one win that will surely be remembered the most was when he became the first African American head coach to hoist the Lombardi Trophy, when he led Peyton Manning and the Colts to a victory over the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl 41. With his spectacular head coaching career in the books, Dungy is one of the most recent inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as he took his rightful place in Canton last month.
Although retired from the coaching game now, Dungy still plays close attention to the happenings around the league, especially as part of his NBC-crew duties. Recently, Dungy was gracious enough to take a few moments and enlighten us with his views on some topics around the NFL.
Jack Jorgensen: First off, coach, thank you so much for taking the time here to talk to us about league. Before we delve into the world of football, tell us a little bit about the amazing Fight Like Dylan campaign that you’re involved with.
Tony Dungy: Yes. There was a young high school player by the name of Dylan Rebeor who ended up passing away just before his senior year of football. And he had one thing that he kinda wished for, and that was his team getting new uniforms for this season. So that message was taken up and we came up with an award with Russell Athletic called the Fight Like Dylan Award. We’ll give it out starting on September 12 and ask people to go to FightLikeDylan.org and post an entry about their high school; if they overcame a challenge or how they utilized teamwork to achieve goals that maybe seemed a little bit out of reach. We’ll go about two months and get all the entries, then select a winner. The winner gets a $50,000 grant from Russell Athletic for new equipment, but what it does is it kinda gives us a way to recognize and to appreciate those people who are many times volunteers, many times assistant coaches — people who are serving our high school athletes and helping them learn what it takes to overcome adversity.
It’s been awesome. This is our sixth year and we’ve had some incredible stories turned into us, and that’s always the most difficult part every year is trying to pick the winner among the stories you get. But it really is a way for people to honor the people that are working so hard in their high schools and let them know about the good things that are happening in high school athletics.
JJ: That’s a fantastic cause to here about, and we’ll surely get the word out. Jumping into you personally for a second here, following an outstanding coaching career, you were recently enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. What was that like to be honored for your accomplishments in your career like that?
TD: It’s really hard to even explain. You know it’s gonna be great and you’re kinda trying to prepare yourself for it, but it was so emotional and such an unbelievable week. I had been there before when some of my players have gone in — Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks. But I was only there for Saturday night and you feel like that’s all there is, but they have a Thursday ceremony and you actually get your jacket, you walk through the present Hall of Famers. They welcome you into the club, take your jacket off of you and put the gold one on. Realizing that you’re gonna be in that group is pretty surreal.
On Friday there’s a luncheon where all the Hall of Famers tell you about what it’s like and what you can expect, as well as some of the good things that are gonna happen. Saturday morning there’s a parade where you go through Canton and it seems like the whole city is out there. Then the actual ceremony is Saturday evening. It was just an unbelievable honor and it’s still hard for me to believe a few weeks later here.
JJ: Now you won a Super Bowl with someone whom many regard as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time in Peyton Manning. When you look at the landscape of the NFL right now, do you see a young signal-caller that you’re excited to see grow and progress into one of the greats like you watched Peyton do? Maybe not reaching the heights that Peyton did, but someone who really has a chance to cement themselves in this league as one of the best.
TD: Well, I look at some of the young guys coming on in the league, and I look at someone like Russell Wilson, someone who’s won a Super Bowl so early in his career and he’s that same type of leader and dedicated type of guy. I also look at Derek Carr in Oakland. The quarterback coach there is a good friend of mine and he describes Derek the same way that I know Peyton Manning. Last year, Marcus Mariota, who played with my son at Oregon — I know him and the type of work ethic that he has. And then Jameis Winston came here to Tampa, my hometown, as the No. 1 pick in the draft, and he’s got his team and the town excited.
You see people with an opportunity to do what Peyton did, but now the difference is can they sustain that? Keep working and keep being that ultimate over a long period of time and that’s the test. I think those guys have a chance to do that and we’ll see how it turns out.
JJ: There’s always seems to be at least one team every season that makes a postseason push that we all don’t really see coming; a sleeper team, if you will. Is there a team this season that you can possibly see sneaking up on everybody?
TD: I don’t know if they’ll make a deep run, but I think the Jacksonville Jaguars have put together some young talent and they’ve stuck behind their coach Gus Bradley. They’re ready to make a move and show some improvement. I look at the Miami Dolphins and I know they’re excited, and they’ve got another young quarterback in Ryan Tannehill who they believe in and feel like he’s ready to take the next step. Those are the two teams in the AFC.
In the NFC, I think it’s gonna be hard to break through. I look at those teams who have been perennially on the top, like Seattle and Arizona — they have a shot. I was ready to go with Dallas as maybe my team, but the injury he suffered changed my mind a bit on that. I think the NFC might be a little more of the traditional teams.
But I like Miami and Jacksonville to make some noise in the AFC.
JJ: To piggyback off one of those answers, what are your thoughts on Dak Prescott having to take over the reins so soon of such a lucrative organization like the Cowboys?
TD: He’s got the building blocks he needs. He has a great offensive line, he has a tremendous running back that he can lean on. If people load up on the running game, you have a big-time receiver that you can throw one-on-one on. So I think the offense is set up for him to really be successful. I’m not sure if their defense has what it takes to be a championship defense yet, but their offense is set.
But he’s been through a lot. Playing at Mississippi State, you go through the pressurized situations and big games. So I think he’s gonna be okay that way. We’ll see how he does. It’s still tough in this league for a rookie to come in, start and be the guy that’s gonna carry a team. I think they’ll be good and we’ll see how Dak handles it.
JJ: You are a Hall of Famer because you’re one of the best head coaches to ever grace the sideline. Do you see an up-and-coming head coach in the league that you can really see building a nice legacy for himself?
TD: You know, that’ll be interesting. We’ve seen some coaches come in and do some good things. We’ve got new coaches in some pretty good situations. Dirk Koetter here in Tampa, looking to build them and get that franchise back. Atlanta is a team that was a playoff team for two or three years when he was there. I got to spend some time with Adam Gase and am really impressed at some of the things that he’s doing in Miami.
Next: Best QB/Head Coach Combos in NFL History
There are some coaches who have some great opportunities, but so much of that depends on the organization and backing that coach. I have a lot of respect for Gus Bradley and I really feel Jacksonville has given him this team. He’s gonna have a chance to really build some things and grow there.
It’s hard for me to say exactly who that’s gonna be. I like Todd Bowles and what he did in his first year with the Jets.
But it really comes down to, when we hit the bump in the road, which organizations are really gonna stand behind their coach and support him. Those are the people that have the chance to make that big mark.
JJ: Coach, your opinion is one of the more respected around all of sports, so this I must ask: What is your take on the stance that 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has taken recently in regards to kneeling during the national anthem?
TD: Well, I think that he’s in the United States and I think we have to remember that. While we may not agree with his views, we may not agree with his approach and doing certain things, if we read the Declaration of Independence, some people that started our country took that approach. They took views that were seen as negative.
Many times, years from now, we’ll look back and say, “That wasn’t as bad as we thought. Or we’ll eventually see the other side of the coin. I think he’s getting a lot of criticism right now. I think we should all take a look in the mirror and take a look at our history before we’re ready to criticizing someone for taking a stand.