An Interview with Tony Dungy

Tony Dungy, the recently retired Head Coach of the Indianapolis Colts, was interviewed at Catalyst. Here's a brief summary...

Give us a snapshot of your life growing up.

My grandfather was a minister and my parents were educators. I got involved in sports early in life, like most kids.

How did sports play a role in your early years?

My mom was a Canadian basketball player; she was the athlete in the family. I couldn’t beat her in anything until I was 14-15 years old.

My dad always tried to make me think. He was always asking me how or why things happened.

I learned early on that you don’t win every game. You have to take the good times with the bad times.

Why is sports a powerful life metaphor for you?
   
Most sports involve teams; you have to work together to make things happen.

Sports also all have ups and downs; you have to learn to bounce back from defeats.

You also have to work hard and look to the future. You may play a game on Sunday but you’re preparing all week long. Preparation is so important.

How was adoption introduced to your family?

We have 3 kids of our own. When our youngest was seven, I thought we were wrapping things up and Lauren said we should look into adoption.

When we were meeting with someone who was explaining the process to us, I asked “If we decide to do this, how long will it take?” Her answer really struck me. She said “If you are willing to take an African-American or mixed child, you can have one immediately.” There were hundreds waiting. That really struck me, and we now have four adopted children.

What has adoption taught you about God?

You love your adopted kids the same as your natural kids; there is no difference.
   
God places people in your lives in different ways, and He knows exactly what he’s doing. Our first adopted child had medical problems and because we had the insurance and resource to care for him, we were able to do things that may not have happened otherwise.

It’s also a picture of how God adopts all of us into His family.

How did you get into coaching in the NFL?

In my second year of football, playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers at 23 years old, we won the Super Bowl. Over the next two years I was traded twice and finally cut. My coach at Pittsburgh told me I had a good mind and would do well in coaching. Coach Noll brought him on board at 25, younger than most of the players. He told me something I never forgot: ‘Your role as coach is to help your players play the best they can play. I’ve never forgotten that it’s my job to help my players play the best they can play and be the best men they can be off the field.

What is one of the most valuable leadership lessons you’ve learned in coaching?

People need you when things are not going well. It’s easy to lead when things are going well, but your people need you the most is after tough games.

How do you take 53 players with separate goals and agendas and mold them into one team?

You must get everyone to focus on what’s really important. It takes knowledge of your personnel; they need to know you support their personal goals, but you must make them focus on the shared goal of winning and being the best.

How did you handle getting fired from Tampa Bay?

When I got job in 1996, I really felt the Lord was taking us there. We were there six years and were headed to the top, but didn’t quite get to there.

My parents always told me that tough times can either drive you away from the Lord or drive you to Him. We wanted it to drive us to Him, so when I got fired we tried to pull close to the Lord during that experience.

Tampa Bay, ‘your’ team, ended up going to the Super Bowl. How did you handle that?

It was tough to handle. I had to reassess what I went to Tampa Bay to do. It was to glorify the Lord and bring a championship to Tampa. That’s what I did, I just wasn’t there for it. But God’s mission was accomplished there.

You got your Super Bowl with Indianapolis; you were the first African-American coach to win the Super Bowl. What was that like?

It was an unbelievable setting in my mind; We had been through the disappointments and were at a point where we were wondering if it was ever going to happen. In that moment, standing at that podium, watching everyone cheer around you, you realize you’re part of something special and are so thankful. Then you realize you’re going to have about 30 seconds to say something in front of millions of people. In that moment I fixed it in my mind that I was going to give the Lord credit.

Why did you walk away at the top?

When I left Tampa, I began to think maybe the Lord had other things for me. I have several programs I’m a part of; a prison ministry, a youth outreach and education program, and All-Pro Dads that promotes responsible fatherhood.

In 2009 I knew it was time to commit more time to those and other things.

Tell us about your relationship with Michael Vick. Why did you reach out to him?

I had met him a few years ago and we found out we had a common interest of fishing. We never got a chance to go fishing together before the dog-fighting incident, and I often wonder how things might have been if we had made time for a trip.

When I had a chance to go to Leavenworth Prison, I took it. One of the things that came up was that Michael did not get enough direction from his dad growing up and I told him I would be there for him to do that.

Tell us about All Pro Dads and the heart and mission of this.

My dad poured into me growing up and I thought that was normal; I realized it was not as I got to know men throughout the National Football League.

Statistics:
    4 out of 10 kids grow up without a father
    40 percent of children born out of wedlock
    1 out of 2 marriages end in divorces
    Neither race nor socio-economic factors truly contribute to why men are in prison; but 90% of men in prison grew up without a father.
    It’s not just a physical absence, but can be an emotional absence of a father as well.

Do you have a word of encouragement for these church leaders here?

We need you. People are looking for solutions and they’re not finding it in schools, not finding it in government. We have the answer in Jesus Christ and we need to share that.

2 Comments »

1. This was very inspiring ... I have always respect Mr. Dungy, but even more so now.  The world needs to see what a valuable role model he is.

   Comment by Julie - Nov 06, 2009 @ 10:45 AM

2. Thank you so much for this new feature.  This is a great resource for us and the reviewers have done a great job of reviewing the product and writing their critiques!
   accident claim company

   Comment by accident claim company - Nov 11, 2009 @ 01:42 PM

Sorry, but commenting is no longer available for this post.