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.
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