Quiet Strength (Part 5)

I read for another 90 minutes to be fully caught up. I read it all in one sitting.

Beginning his first season as a head coach in the NFL, Tony Dungy was ready to take on the challenges. It first began with the NFL draft. Dungy was ready to pick a group of guys that would be committed to a long-term run with the Bucs. He wanted guys that would represent the team well and put in as much effort as needed to improve the team.

The Bucs had their eyes set on an explosive running back from Texas A&M for their top pick. They had lined up a trade for him if he was still available for a pick ahead of them. Unfortunately, team decided to go down another route and pick someone else. The Bucs frantically made phone call after phone call and ended up drafting the next best back, Mike Alstott. The team was a little disappointed that they didn't get their main pick, but had to show that they were happy with Alstott. They also drafted Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks, who were two outstanding defensive players. It looked like the Bucs would have some talent coming into the new season.

As the pre-season began, Dungy emphasized to the team that they would have to work through many different circumstances if they wanted to win. Time changes would be a factor, along with injuries, new coaching strategies, different attitudes, and more. Dungy wanted to give them practices in many different environments and situations to make sure they were prepared for the season.

As the first game came along, Dungy and the team were very excited about getting their first taste of action. They opened up with Green Bay and got smashed. They continued their losing streak to 0-5, having blowouts and close losses.

Their next game was against Dungy's former team, the Minnesota Vikings, and Dungy expressed to the players that the game couldn't be a better one to have their first win. The Vikings had the best record in the league at 5-0 and Dungy knew the Viking's strategies from coaching there previously. The Bucs' dominated the game and earned their first loss.

The season went on and they were up and down through the rest of the year. They ended at 6-10, winning their last game against the Chicago Bears. The players dumped the gatorade container on Dungy after the win and were very pleased with the win. Dungy was interviewed after the game and was asked why the players poured gatorade on him, after going 6-10. Dungy said that this season was different than the previous losing seasons. They had made great improvements in their team and had a bright future ahead. The players knew that it was different with Dungy and were excited about what was to come.

I'm enjoying how Dungy is going about his coaching. He doesn't yell at the players when he's mad, but instead, gets quieter the more he wants to emphasize something. He respects the players as people and wants them to be respectable people, as well. Dungy had an incident with a couple players that pushed him to remind the team that their off-the-field attitude better be the same as their on-the-field attitude. They must give 100% for everything they do, even if it isn't about football. Dungy is a very respectable man that I strongly look up to.

Quiet Strength (Part 4)

I'll be honest, Michelle, I got a little behind on my reading. I'm catching up, though! I read for 90 minutes, all at once.

Tony Dungy has always been a man of strong faith. It's a good thing, too, because he definitely was put to the test during these next few years.

Dungy had been told by many people that he is head coach worthy. He had been told this by his mentor, wife, and other coaches around the NFL. Of course, Dungy wanted to be a head coach right away, but that wasn't the plan that God had for him.

Dungy coached at Minnesota for a long time, trying to be patient for a head coaching position to open up. Unfortunately, not many spots were available. When they were available, Dungy was normally invited to an interview. Unfortunately, the position wasn't given to Dungy.

Finally, after about eight years at Minnesota, Dungy was invited to an interview at Tampa Bay. Dungy had been keeping up with the media and it sounded like the position was going to one of two coaches, not including him. Dungy still wanted to take the time to interview and keep an open mind about it. Bad luck struck, however, and Dungy's glasses broke. He went to the interview having to tilt his head to keep his glasses on. Lucky for him, the president of the organization wore glasses and completely understood his problem. The interview went well and Dungy headed back to Minnesota. He told Lauren that they shouldn't expect anything good out of this.

A couple days later, Dungy received a call to go back to Tampa for a second interview. Dungy couldn't believe this and started having some hope. He went back and had another great interview. Going back to Minnesota, the president of the Bucs called Dungy asking for his agent's phone number. Asking why, the president wanted to start negotiating a contract. Dungy was closing the gap between him and the head coaching job at Tampa Bay.

Immediately, Dungy told Lauren about the exciting news. She made sure it was real and started getting really excited for the move, mainly to get out of the Minnesota cold. The couple went to Tampa one last time to have dinner with the president and a couple other members of the organization. Media was outside the building, knowing the the head coach was inside. Dungy signed the papers and was introduced as the new coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Right away, the family moved down to Tampa. Dungy had to get busy right away and try to come up with a coaching staff. As hard as it was, Dungy decided to start with a clean slate and let go of the whole staff. Interviews started up right away and Dungy knew who he wanted to coach with him. His main target was Herm Edwards, coach at the Kansas City Chiefs and long time friend. Edwards told Dungy that it sounded great, but not yet. He needed some time to figure some stuff out. Dungy gave him time and started hiring other coaches. He landed a few big names from across the league, but knew that his organization would be ecstatic with Edwards.

After a good portion of time trying to persuade Edwards to join the team, he gave in and became the assistant head coach. Dungy had high hopes for the season, having coaches with creativity, a winning attitude, and strong leadership. It was time to start up with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Dungy went through a lot to get to where he is today (or where he's at in the book). He has had a great support system around him and that is how he had the patience to wait for this head coaching position. He relies on God to unfold His plan for Dungy and tries to follow that plan as best he can. I do believe that Dungy's faith is a big reason for his success. He definitely deserves his success.

Why the NFL is so great

The National Football League. One of the most watched professional sports in the world. What a great piece of entertainment for us! But wait a second, is it really for all of us? As most of you know, I'm engaged to Molly Komlofske. I watch football a lot and get really excited for games. It's really sad, though, when Molly says something like "eww, football again?" I try to explain to her why football is so great, but sometimes I don't think I'm getting through to her. Maybe if I make a list, she'll have a visual as to why football's so great. This can be for all those non-football loving girls, too!

1. It's a sport.
2. It takes great skill to play your position well.
3. Plays have a lot of components to it. Everybody must know everyone's assignment. Lots of memorization is required.
4. Guys running at full speed to tackled another guy.
5. It's so unpredictable. Just because a team is ranked higher than the other, doesn't mean they're going to win.
6. It's an adrenaline rush. A kickoff return for 108 yards to win the game just gets you going!
7. It's something the whole family can watch.
8. So much tradition is involved.
9. It changes constantly! Players retire, get drafted, get cut, get hurt, holdout on a contract, etc. Coaches get fired or retire. Rules are also changing to make the game safer (not exactly a fan of all the new rules).
10. Teams can score three touchdowns within 70 seconds (check the Michigan-Notre Dame game from this weekend)
11. The Super Bowl is one of the most watched events on national/world television.
12. You can eat junk food during the game! It's 100% acceptable!
13. The sounds of a big hit is music to the ears.

There are so much more, but those are some of the big reasons why the NFL is so awesome. I just ask all you lovely ladies out there give the NFL another chance. Watch a game with your boyfriend, fiance, husband, or just a group of friends. It's all so exciting!

Quiet Strength (Part 3)

This week I read Quiet Strength for 90 minutes. I read for an hour one morning and thirty minutes that night.

Last time I left off, Tony Dungy had won the Super Bowl with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Dungy started celebrating with some of his Steelers buddies when Dungy received notice that he had been traded. Dungy was on his way to San Francisco to join the 49ers. That season, the 49ers went 2-14. Dungy, again, was traded to the New York Giants. Unfortunately for Dungy, he was released at the end of training camp. As Dungy pondered on what his future may be, he decided to retire from playing in the National Football League.

Before Dungy left New York, one of his coaches came up to him and gave a pitch to start coaching. Not long after that talk, the giants called Dungy to be one of their coaches. At the same time, the Steelers had also offered Dungy a coaching deal. Having such a great relationship with the Steelers, Dungy decided to join the club and become the youngest coach in the NFL.

After moving back to Pittsburgh, the team chaplain called Dungy to speak at a local church. One of the Steelers' lineman, Ted Peterson, was originally supposed to speak, but was sick. Dungy accepted. That Sunday, he showed up to the church and explained the situation. The senior pastor decided to get to know Dungy during breakfast so he could give the congregation a little introduction for him. Dungy did well speaking and after the service, the senior pastor came up to him to tell how well he did. However, he also added that he wanted Dungy to meet a young lady from the congregation. Hesitant, Dungy declined and told him another time may better.

Time had gone by and the pastor continued to push for the meeting of this young lady. Finally, Dungy accepted. He went to her house to meet her and immediately, Dungy was exstatic. Lauren Harris was gorgeous and Dungy couldn't believe she was single. Dungy also met her parents while he was there. They chatted for a while, but shortly after, Harris had to go to a class. Dungy also had to leave for work. Dungy knew right away that there was something different about Harris and wanted to meet up again.

They started hanging out and getting to know each other more. As they progressed, Dungy knew she was the one and proposed. She said yes and they got married.

After their marriage, Dungy went through many different teams as a coach. He stayed at Pittsburgh for a while as the defensive coordinator, then to Cincinnati as the defensive backs coach, then to Kansas City as the defensive coordinator, then to Minnesota at the defensive coordinator. During this time, the Dungy's also had three kids.

Dungy had to make a lot of decisions for his family and for himself. Every time a new opportunity arose, Dungy went to the Lord for guidance. He faithfully prayed and felt that every decision that he made was the Lord's decision, as well. Dungy is definitely a great role model to me. He is a living example of what a Christian should be. This is why Tony Dungy is my favorite coach.

Quiet Strength (Part 2)

I'm continuing on my assignment of reading 90 minutes a week. I read all 90 minutes in one sitting this week and I continued reading Quiet Strength.

Last time I read, the NFL draft had just finished up and Tony Dungy had not been drafted by any team. He was devastated by this and wasn't sure where to go from there. Dungy had received calls from teams to play at a different position, but not as quarterback. He even received a call from the professional football league up in Canada to be quarterback. Dungy really wasn't sure what to do. He had dreamt for so long of becoming a quarterback in the NFL, but that dream seemed so far away. What made it harder for Dungy was that the CFL was offering Dungy about ten times more money to come play for them. After many long phone calls, Dungy decided to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Dungy worked as hard as he could to make the team. He was first placed with the offensive unit at wide receiver. At that point, Pittsburgh already had a verteran group of wide receivers, so the coach moved him to the defensive side at safety. Dungy put in a lot of work to make the team, watching film, asking questions, and absorbing every bit of information he could from his coaches. As training camp and the preseason was over, Dungy had made the team. He even had a decent first year, making three interceptions. Then, his dream opened back up as the two top quarterbacks for the team were injured during a game. Dungy got the opportunity to play at quarterback, but played terribly. He threw two interceptions and lost a fumble to lose the game, 27-10. Coach told him to keep his head up and work hard, but just as he started to get reacquainted with the quarterback position, he found out that their starting quarterback would be healthy enough to play and that he would be moved back to safety.

During Dungy's second season, he started to put on some muscle weight and was ready to make another statement for the year. Unfortunately, Dungy hit a road block as he became sick. He went to the doctor and found out that he had mononucleosis. Dungy missed three weeks of practice and started getting really frustrated. One day, Dungy's coach, Donnie Shell, came to visit Dungy to see how he was doing. As Dungy expressed his frustration, Shell reminded Dungy of his faith. Dungy thought about it and had realized that he was placing football first in his life, rather than God. After Shell had that talk with him, Dungy got back to placing God first. Miraculously, Dungy regained his health and was able to practice a week before the first preseason game. That season, Dungy lead the team in interceptions and was tied for tenth in the league. The Steelers went on to win the Super Bowl that year over the Cowboys.

I loved reading this because I can relate to it in so many ways. I have been to the point in my life where I have placed sports first. I know that's not right, but that's what has happened. I know that in my faith, I need to keep God as my number one priority and keep it that way. Dungy went through the exact same situation and struggled through his time. He went on to getting back to where he should be in his faith and have a sensational year. This is great inspiration to me and it's really cool to know that someone of his stature has gone through the same thing as me.