Quiet Strength (Part 10)

This week I read for 90 minutes, all in one sitting.

As the 2004 season rolled around, Tony Dungy was excited to make a few more additions to the team. Bob Sanders, a safety from the University of Iowa, was drafted by the Colts in the second round of the NFL draft. The team needed a key player on defense and Dungy felt that Sanders would fill that role.

Sadly, after the draft, Dungy received word that his father had been put in the hospital. Dungy couldn't believe this because his dad would bike five miles to eat breakfast and then five miles back home. He would also visit the YMCA for a swim workout two days a week. Being put in the hospital just didn't make sense to Dungy.

Dungy's father was put in the hospital for leukemia. He was in the Indiana University School for Medicine, a world class oncology center. Fortunately, Dungy's father didn't experience any sort of side effects that the doctors had mentioned. For Dungy, this was a good time to spend with his father.

They spent the time reminiscing of old memories. Fishing, football games, old movies, and other past topics were brought up in their time together. Dungy was glad for the time he was able to spend with his dad. It was a time of thinking, too. Dungy realized that his father spent a lot of quality and quantity time with his sons. Being a coach in the NFL, Dungy wasn't always able to do that. He started to be more conscious of that and decided that it was time to pay more attention to his family.

Later on, Dungy's father was released from the hospital after the leukemia had gone into remission. It was a great day for Dungy, knowing that his dad would get a chance to see his son coach in the Super bowl. Unfortunately, a week later, Dungy's father passed away. An extremely low white blood cell count caused his immune system to become vulnerable and obtain an infection.

Dungy went back to the team after a hard loss. His players were very empathetic and shared their condolences.

As the season was about to start, Dungy kept on preaching about doing the little things right. He showed the team a movie, Death by Inches. The movie gives an illustration about how you can be so close to something, but not quite make it. Dungy wanted to make sure the guys knew that in order to make their goals, they have to do those little things right so that they don't fall short.

Dungy got in a little trouble with the media with a couple interviews. The first one was over a skit that was showed right before a Monday Night Football game. It was with Terrell Owens, the Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver, and an actress from Desperate Housewives. It was a sexual skit and Dungy felt there was no need for it before a family sport. He expressed his concern in an interview, but had a small comment about using an African American male. Male came pouring in over how he was a racist. Of course, this isn't the case for Dungy. He wanted to make the point that there's no need for that kind of junk on TV, especially around a football game.

The season was another great one as the Colts went 12-4 and won the AFC South Division. Peyton Manning was developing into an elite quarterback and had great weapons in Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, and Brandon Stokley. Once again, the season came to and end with a loss. The New England Patriots had dominated the game and went on the win the Super Bowl. Another learning experience for the Colts.

How hard would it be to lose your father and then go back to coach a group of men in a tough, emotional sport? Dungy must really love the sport, but more so his family. He mentioned that his dad would have wanted him to go back to his team, and he did. Dungy has concentrated on his family a lot, and I feel that in being an NFL coach, he has done well. He doesn't seem too satisfied with himself. It's great to see a true dad be so conscious of his family. I hope to become a father someday and I'm starting to mold a father type mentality around him. He's a great man to look up to and I think all fathers should learn from him.

Quiet Strength (Part 9)

This week I read for 90 minutes, all in one sitting.

After Dungy and the Colts lost to the Jets in the playoffs, there was some controversy among one of the players. Mike Vanderjagt, the kicker, made a few comment during the post-game interview. He criticized both the team and Dungy. Immediately, Dungy knew something had to be done.

The normal routine for something like would probably be to talk to the player, then make one of two options. A coach could keep the player, knowing that they're unhappy and could hurt the team, or the player could be released or traded. Dungy wanted to get rid of Vanderjagt as soon as possible. Dungy gave him a call and asked to meet with him immediately.

One of Dungy's sons, Jamie, is a very friendly kid. On his terms, anybody that gives him a small bit of positive attention could be a possible friend. Vanderjagt was apparently one of Jamie's friends. Once he heard that Dungy was meeting with Vanderjagt, Jamie had to talk to him.

"Why is everybody mad at Mike, Dad?"

"Because of what he said."

"Dad, you can't get rid of Mike. He's my friend."

"I can promise you this, Jamie. I won't do anything just because of what other people are saying or because of what's in the paper. I plan to bring him in here and talk to him. If I do decide to get rid of him, it will only be because the team needs it."

After the conversation, Dungy went into the office to do a little devotion time. He came across a parable about judgement. Dungy realized that he had judged Vanderjagt purely off of his interview. He knew that he should probably get his kicker's true feelings and decide where to go from there.

Dungy met with Vanderjagt and found out that the interview was purely from frustration from the loss. All Vanderjagt wanted to do was kick for the Colts. Dungy, out of the goodness of his heart, let him stay.

The season went underway and the Colts started hot at 4-0. For the fifth game, the Colts were up against the defending national champs, and Dungy's former team, the Bucs. The game was in Tampa and the fans gave him a standing ovation to start the game. It was a very emotional time for Dungy.

The game couldn't have been more dramatic. Being down by 21, the Colts stormed back in the second half to send the game into overtime and win with a clutch field goal by Vanderjagt.

The Colts continued to have more come-from-behind victories and made the playoffs. They dominated their first game against the Broncos, 41-10, then won a tough game on the road against the Chiefs, 38-31.

It came down to the AFC Championship, where the Colts would take on the Patriots. A quick lead put the Patriots ahead and they never looked back, taking the game 24-14.

Dungy had another program going in the right direction. Another season was as close as it could get to making the Super Bowl. The organization had their trust in Dungy and knew he would make even more progress.

I admire Dungy so much for his trust in God. Even though he thinks he has a final decision, God sends a message to him that completely turns him around. It's inspirational to see how obedient Dungy can be.

Quiet Strength (Part 8)

This week I read for 90 minutes, all in one sitting.

After Tony Dungy was fired, he started thinking about his future right away. He wondered if his time coaching for the NFL was over and if it was time to move on. The Bucs moved on pretty quickly, hiring Jon Gruden as their new head coach. Dungy received no calls.

Dungy decided that he would continue with his ministry. He and his friend started going to a local prison to witness to some of the inmates there. Dungy was shocked when he saw kids at sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen. He had that mindset where all the guys were older, tough, scraggly looking men. That definitely wasn't the case.

Dungy was able to connect with the guys pretty quickly. A lot of them followed football and read the Bible, so Dungy had a couple topics he could discuss with them. Some inmates would open up and tell Dungy about their hopes and dreams for when they get out of prison. To this day, inmates still send Dungy poems, drawings, and letters to express themselves.

One day, after returning home from the prison, Dungy received a voice message on his home phone. It was from the owner of the Colts. He wanted Dungy to come to Indianapolis to join the team as head coach. The voice message was fifteen minutes long and told Dungy all about the ideas and views that were wanted for the team. Dungy realized that maybe his coaching career wasn't over.

Almost at the same time, the Panthers called Dungy to see if he would come to North Carolina. Dungy evaluated both teams and found that both jobs were right up his alley. When it boiled down, Indianapolis seemed like the better fit for the Dungy family. Dungy was now the coach of the Indianapolis Colts.

For the first year in Indianapolis, the family decided to have two houses. They would keep the house in Tampa so that their daughter could finish high school and then a new house would be bought for Tony up in Indianapolis for the season. The family would reunite on gamedays and Tony would go home to Tampa as soon as the season was over.

The Colts went 10-6 during their first season. Nothing impressive happened during their first season, but they did reach the playoffs as a wild card team. They were to go to New York to face Herm Edwards' team, the Jets. Unfortunately, the Colts got blown out in a 41-0 trampling.

Dungy's former team, the Bucs, also made it to the playoffs. Dungy had no hard feelings towards his old team, so was rooting them through the post-season. The Bucs rolled through three games to make it to the Super Bowl. Tampa Bay was hopping and people were ecstatic for the top game of them all. Newspapers were headlining the game and some even went as far as to say "Thank goodness for Gruden finishing what Dungy couldn't." This was hurtful, but Dungy knew that God had a plan for him and his new team.

Gruden won the Super Bowl over the Raiders. Dungy was quite happy for the team and hoped that someday that could be him. Work was to be done and everything he believed was being stressed more and more to the players. "Continue to improve on the little things. It'll come together."

I found it interesting how the Dungy family went through their first year with Tony in Indianapolis. That would be hard to live without your family and only get to see them on the weekends. They must have a strong family, because Dungy didn't mention anything about him and his wife or him and the kids getting worried, concerned, depressed, or anything like that. My respect continues to build on Tony Dungy.

Quiet Strength (Part 7)

This week I read for 90 minutes, all at once.

As I have blogged before, you know that Tony Dungy has coached a few different teams. His schemes had come together through observing every former partner coach. The defense had really benefited from Dungy's observations. The Bucs had one of the top defenses in the NFL. They had limited the defending champions, the Rams, to only 11 points in their last game. The analysts thought that Dungy had created a new defense, when in reality, it was just a modified version of the Cover 2 zone coverage. Either way, the Bucs' defense had become tough.

Unfortunately for the Bucs, they couldn't seem to get over the hump. Reaching the playoffs for another two years, they didn't get past the first game. Rumors were being spread on if Dungy would keep his job, but Dungy wasn't worried about it. He knew that God had a plan for him and if he would do whatever God needed him to do.

While all of this was going on, Dungy's wife decided that she wanted to adopt. The Dungy's already had three kids, but Lauren felt like they were financially blessed enough to take care of another child. The Dungy's adopted a boy, Jordan, and took him home as the newest member of the Dungy family.

As time went along, Dungy found out that the rumors of his job being on the line was true. The owner invited Dungy to his house and told him that he was no longer the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It was a short conversation and Dungy left after about ten minutes.

The next day, Dungy went to his office to load up his stuff. It was time for Dungy to move on to the next step in his life. He gathered up his stuff and was escorted out of the stadium. His time in Tampa Bay was over.

That must be such a hard concept to take in. After going a few years of making the playoffs, Dungy had been fired. That would be so crappy. I understand that Dungy hadn't made the Super Bowl, but he was still successful and had made so much progress. The NFL is a rough business, from what I can tell. I can't imagine how hard it would be to go through all of it.

Quiet Strength (Part 6)

This week I read for 90 minutes, all in one sitting.

Tony Dungy is now in his second season as the Bucs' head coach. After his first season of a typical first season record, but full of positivity, Dungy is now ready to take on another season. The NFL draft rolled around and Dungy was focused on drafting a quality running back that could make big plays. For the longest time, one of the Bucs players kept saying that Warrick Dunn, the running back from Florida State, should be the pick for the Bucs. Dungy did his research and found Dunn to be a heck of a player and the perfect fit for their system. The draft came along and after a multi-team deal, trades flew around and Dunn landed in Tampa.

The season started and Dungy realized that his player was right. Dunn was the perfect fit for the Bucs and made a huge impact for the offense. The Bucs had a great year and for the first time in about 15 years, made the playoffs. The team did exactly what Dungy wanted them to accomplish, win games, impact the community and bring back Tampa Bay football. The team had ended the season with a 10-6 record, had the community excited for games and had games being sold out, once again.

The Bucs lost in the second round of the playoffs, but everyone knew that football in Tampa had changed. Dungy had led the team back to the playoffs and the future was bright. Unfortunately, the next season was everything but what Coach Dungy wanted. The team went 8-8 and missed the playoffs. They were a bipolar team full of great games and awful games. Inconsistency was their middle name.

The next year, Dungy got the team back on track and made the playoffs. The Bucs did so well that they even made the NFC Championship game. They were to face the Rams. One of the best teams was found in the Rams and all predictions were towards the Rams easily winning the game. Dungy knew that this would be a huge game and it would take a little extra motivation for the players. Dungy gave a speech at the beginning of the week on how the Rams were a hurricane and they were a tornado. A hurricane is strong and powerful, yet on the radar. A tornado is strong, as well, but is very unexpected. Dungy was right about this, as the press went through the whole week talking about the Rams.

The game came along and it was a defensive battle. It was a hard-fought game that ended with a Rams' victory, 11-6. Dungy couldn't believe how close he was to a Super Bowl, but still gave God praise.

I can't imagine how hard it would feel to go up and down like that from year to year. I know that in the NFL, every year is different, but it would be so frustrating to go from a promising year to a cruddy year. Dungy is still impressing me with his composure and motivation towards his players. I feel like I'm entering into his brain while reading this book, and I'm enjoying the heck out of it.