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.
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