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Q & A with Indianapolis Colts Coach, Tony Dungy

Interview by Dr. Mark Rutland

The Indianapolis Colts headquarters is decidedly understated, considering it’s the news center of the most powerful professional football club in the world. Just like the Colt’s head coach, Tony Dungy. Dungy walks into the interview and greets me warmly, as if he’s my neighbor and we’re meeting at a backyard barbeque. He’s definitely not like the stereotypical, self-absorbed sports star.

Helmets, pads and jerseys all in blue, festooned with startling white horseshoes, surround us. This is Dungy’s world—a world of winners and losers, of multimillionaires barely out of their teens, and high-octane, big-money football programs with one goal: win the Super Bowl.

He has done it. The prize is his. Yet he is no snarling, cursing, ruthless, win-at-all-costs coach-zilla.

Among the swollen egos, Dungy is one of the sport’s most rare commodities—a truly great winner who remains a modest, sensitive Christian. His world is bigger that football. They say nice guys finish last. Dungy proves them wrong. This is one nice guy who finished first.

New Man:	Coach, first of all, let me congratulate you on your great Super Bowl win.

Tony Dungy:	Well, Thank you it was an awesome month for us leading up to it, and then culminating with the game. I'm very, very proud of our team. I thought it was a team win all the way. We just have a great group of guys and I am very proud of them.

NM:	You must be very proud. I watched the Super Bowl in Jerusalem at 3am.

Dungy:	Wow!

NM:	And it occurred to me that it must be an amazing feeling to realize that people all over world are watching you at a given moment.

Dungy:	As we walked out to the field to warm up I just remembered watching all those other Super Bowls and knowing what the audience was seeing and saying, hey, we are out here and we are a focal point of certainly the country right now and it was kind of a humbling feeling.

NM:	When you went up on the platform to collect the trophy, you and the owner made such a bold testimony of faith. Had you thought through that moment? Had you taken time to say: This is what I want to say?

Dungy:	I didn't know what I was going to say but I did know that if we won, the huge platform that it would be and that I definitely wanted to acknowledge the Lord. I didn't have a rehearsed thing, I just said what came to my mind but I had prayed, Lord if we get there I am going to take at least a minute to acknowledge your role in this and honor you.

NM:	It was powerful. Very clear, very unassuming, and humble but it was powerful.

Dungy:	Well, thank you very much and they gave me a great lead in question, you know talking about being the first African American Coach to win it and I talked about how proud I was of that but really more identity for me is the fact of doing it as a Christian.

NM:	Your faith had been pretty well documented but I was somewhat surprised at the statement of faith from the owner.

Dungy:	Jim Irsay, has been through a lot. He is a guy that I love working for. His heart is golden. It's genuine, and I think just in the course of a lot of things that have happened in his life and with our team, he's coming to realize that God is there, that God cares about everything and the direction of our team is not something that we are able to control. It's controlled by the Lord. Jim knows that.

NM:	It's one thing to win. It's another thing to lose. If you were Rex Grossman's coach, what would you say to him right now?

Dungy:	You know it's funny, because I have been in that situation a lot; we've been close the last four years. We haven't lost Super Bowl games, but we've lost big games, and I would say the same thing that I've said to Peyton Manning. You know, we have a good football team, we're going to continue to grow, we are going to get these chances again and the Lord is preparing us. Every disappointment is preparation for what is around the corner and we are going to continue to persevere. We are going to continue to grow as a group and the biggest thing is, we have to stay together. I would have to stay in Rex's corner. He would have to keep the confidence that he has in himself and not get down because we lost one game.

NM:	After all, I'd like to be a bad enough quarterback to take my team all the way to the Super Bowl and lose.

Dungy:	That's the thing that people don't realize, the Chicago Bears won 15 games during the course of the year. They won their conference championship by 25 points, which is unheard of in the NFL. They've got a great football team and it was just our time and our day. And we've been on the other side of that coin with the New England Patriots a couple of times, and last year with the Steelers. So, we know what that feels like, but you've got to use that to propel you forward and not look back. You look back to learn and grow but you have to look forward to anticipate.

NM:	I want to zero a little bit on a leadership issue. When the Bears ran back that opening touchdown was there a moment where you had to reach down inside of yourself and get hold, to calm yourself.

Dungy:	Usually, you do, but it was so funny the night before, I talked to the team and I talked about our season, I said, "You know, there have been ups and downs, we've had plenty of hills, we've been in the valley some. I think it prepared us for tomorrow's game and we are going to have a valley, we're going to have a storm that's going to hit and just like we've done all season, we've got to hang together and get through it and when we do, we are going to be fine.� And it's so funny when that opening kick-off was run back, everybody on the sidelines, kind of just said, "Coach you talked about this, you called it. Don't worry about it. We're ready. Had I not anticipated that, I am sure I would have felt differently. But it was almost like the Lord prepared us for it.

NM:	It was apparent. The camera searched the sidelines in vain looking for fear and panic. But it was as if the whole team said, "That's nothing — we're ok."

Dungy:	I think that was exactly our approach. We were obviously disappointed that it happened, but no-one felt like, "Oh, it's not going to be our day, here we go." It was just, that we knew we were going to have to overcome in the course of the game. First quarter, second quarter, third quarter it was going to come, it just happened to come in the first play of the game.

NM:	Let's go back a game. In my way of thinking, the great game was the game before that.

Dungy:	It really was, I think from all of our players' standpoint and my wife Lauren said the same thing. The energy and the emotion of winning that championship, to know that we were going to the Super Bowl, and doing it at home in front of our fans plus coming back from an 18 point deficit; all of those things were just, boy, just the ultimate.

NM:	You exude such calm confidence. You seem to just walk in a level of assurance. But in the course of that game with the Pats, will you tell me the honest truth? Was there a place where you said, we are too far down?

Dungy:	No, I never did. When they scored, when they intercepted the ball and ran it back for a touchdown to make it a 21-3 that was very�you are almost at that point, but I was just so sure about this team and the way we've gone through trials. Again, the night before that game, one of our captains got up, and said, "Guys this is our time." And I was so sure of that, and convinced in my spirit, that at that point I just went up the sidelines and said, "Guys this is still our time. It's not going to be taken away from us." I never felt that we weren't going to win that game.

NM:	I wondered what was going on inside that calm coach on the sideline. That's powerful.

Dungy:	Right after that, we went down and kicked the field goal, making it 21-6, so we are still down 15 points at half-time. But I went in the locker room and I said, "You know what, we've been down much farther than this before. I said, we're going to have a chance, at the end of the game. We're going to have the ball with a chance to win the game and this time we are going to do it."

NM:	Whether you are the president of a university or a pro football coach or the CEO of a corporation; what is the role of a leader in a time of crisis?

Dungy:	My high school coach always used to say that, that is when you find out if you are a leader�when you are going down hill and everything is smooth, you may be in front, but that's just because of gravity. But when you are going up hill and it is tough, then you can look behind and see who is following you. The reason people follow you is because they believe in what you are saying and what you are doing. That, to me, is a test of true leadership. When things aren't going smooth, can you keep your composure? Can you keep your focus and climb up that hill and have everybody, even though it's a little bit tougher, still climbing with you?

NM:	Right now you are in the post winning euphoria. Earlier you talked about designing the rings, and the "bling-bling dog tags." But, when all that calms down, you've got to start another season, almost right away. What's the difference in leadership for you now?

Dungy:	Leading in prosperity is different than leading in adversity. In adversity, everyone tends to listen because no one thinks they have the answer. When you are in prosperity, everybody feels like, "Hey, I know how this works, I've done it. And you have a tendency to lose focus. So, I think my job in the next couple of months will be just keeping that focus, keeping that direction and fortunately we have a great group of guys, but it is tougher. It is much easier to think about other things, and to get distracted when things are going really well.

NM:	I am sure that people have said you can't be a Christian and coach guys in a violent sport. I think that the same thing is said to CEO's; you can't be a Christian and in a world that is all about materialism. How do you respond to that?

Dungy:	That's really my motivation for being in coaching and being in the NFL right now. I want to show people that if you can look at this NFL venue and say, ok, here are young men, it's a violent sport, it's seen as one of those, "Win at all cost" situations�if a Christian can succeed with Christian principles in this environment, then people should be able to see that it can be done anywhere. That's really my motivation. You have a group of guys who are trying to achieve a goal. And there are different ways to get them there, but leading in a way that they want to follow you � I think that's important, and to me that's the fun of it. Not commanding, demanding, but saying, "Guys, I know how to get us there. Follow me."

NM:	You are one of only two guys that ever won a Super Bowl as a player and then as a coach. What's the difference in how you felt?

Dungy:	Very much different feeling. As a player, it was just thrill, exhilaration that we had gotten there. As a coach, I think you see the whole organization and you see how much goes into it. Jim Irsay our owner did a great thing, he took everyone in our organization down to the game. Janitorial staff, our cooks, our secretaries, everyone in the building and as a coach you know how much they have put into it. Our groundskeeper, getting us a great practice field to be on everyday, our equipment men, washing the uniforms, getting everything ready so guys don't have anything to think about, except playing the game. All of those people as a head coach, you realize how much of their life they've put into it and it's so much more satisfying going as a leader than just as a player.

NM:	What was the first moment in your life where you realize that you had a gift and calling for leadership?

Dungy:	I probably didn't realize that until I was in college as a quarterback, I'd always been in leadership positions. I was kind of a leader in Junior High and High School but I never looked at myself that way. When I got to college and I realized that I was the quarterback of the team. I looked back and said, I've always been in this position. It doesn't scare me. My parents were that way. My parents were real leaders in a very soft-spoken way. It's been something I have always been around.

NM:	There is a tremendous platform now that's open for you and Lovie Smith for African Americans who will look to you in a phenomenal way. But let's be honest, only a tiny percentage of young African Americans athletes are going to make it to the pros. Do you have a word to say to those athletes?

Dungy:	My message to everybody is, "I happen to be in football, I happen to be in the NFL at the highest level, I've just gotten to the pinnacle of my career. I definitely could not have said growing up in a small town, where no one had ever gotten to the NFL that fifty years from now I am going to be the leader of an NFL championship team. So, we can't put a box on God. He can take you in a number of different areas, a number of different fields, and I don't think that my job is more important than my dad's job was. My dad taught freshmen Biology. And, my dad has had people who have gone on to be doctors and have found cures to diseases that have helped mankind or would help mankind for years. So, just winning a Super Bowl while it's a very high profile job, it's not a job that is really meaningful in the long run. God can put you anywhere and God will put you in places where your gifts can succeed. Put everything into it, but know that if you are walking with the Lord, He's going to put you in the spot that He wants you, where you will and can have the most impact.

NM:	That's wonderful. I am delighted to hear your dad was a teacher. I think that my faculty will be delighted to hear you say that, being a faculty member is more meaningful than being a Super Bowl coach.

Dungy:	By far, my mom was a teacher also, and when people hear my name and see me on TV, I'll get cards that say, "I had your mom in public speaking and I work for such and such corporation now and I would have never been able to talk in front of people, had I not had your mom in the tenth grade. Those kinds of things are what life is all about. My parents had that gift. God put them there to exercise that gift. He gave me a gift in football and He put me there to exercise that. So, I think it's not where we are going, but are we going where the Lord wants us?

NM:	There's a principle that talks about people being promoted beyond their level of competence. But you've made the transition, right up through the ranks. Did you have to move to new levels of leadership or did it just come to you?

Dungy:	It came, but it's definitely a different capacity and you grow in it. I'm a much better head coach than I was eleven years ago when I started. I had 15 years of training as an assistant coach. I grew into that. I believe that my gift is in coaching and leading young men. I've had people ask me, would you like to be a General Manager? People even last year, approached me about being the commissioner when that was changing. I understand that's not my gift. I'm where I think the Lord has trained me to be. I think that it is important to recognize your gift and be happy where the Lord places you.

NM:	Do you think that coaching is a part of every leadership position? How much of leadership is actually coaching?

Dungy:	I think that just about anything we do is really mentoring and I kind of look at my job as a mentor. I just happen to mentor young men who are trying to play the game of football. Everything is trying to get the most out of the people that you work with. I think that as a university president, as a college professor, as a football coach, as a CEO of a fortune 500 corporation, it's still mentoring those people around you and getting the most out of their ability.

NM:	Do have to be cautious about how much you talk to players about their personal lives? We see the train wrecks in the NFL. How much can Coach Tony Dungy, put his arm around a player and say, "Look son, you've got to clean up your act"?

Dungy:	I think that's very important. To me, that's the biggest part in my job. Sure, I get paid to help that player be the best player he can be on the field. But I think the Lord has put me there to give him wisdom in other areas as well. And if I neglect that part and say, well I am only supposed to coach you on the field�I am not doing my duty. You have to gain people's trust that way and the longer players play for you, the more they do feel free to open up or listen to you. Some of my biggest thrills are from guys who've come back after they've played and say, "Hey, that stuff you talked to me about off the field and the things you emphasized I didn't really understand. I couldn't imagine why you harped on that so much, but now that I'm done playing and I'm married and I have kids, I really appreciate it." When you get calls like that, it means more than any Super Bowl trophy.

NM:	What about the future? Do you see yourself being in football for a long time? And after that, what else? Are you thinking about politics?

Dungy:	No, I don't think about politics. I really don't see myself being in football a whole lot longer. I've actually coached 26 years now, which is a long time and I've enjoyed every minute of it. I still enjoy it. I have a passion for it. But we have pretty much six months a year where we're out of commission with the rest of the world and being able to be in Sunday school and church full-time is something that I look forward to. I have a couple of things in Florida that I am very passionate about. We have a group that I am part of, All Pro Dads, which is a group that really encourages fathers and their family relationships. I have a heart for prison visitations. I get to do some in the off season, but I know that if I wasn't coaching six months a year, I'd get to do more of that. Right now I do think that I have a tremendous platform, I still have a passion for it, so, I'll be here a few years longer, but I don't know how many more.

NM:	They say, "Nice guys finish last." But that hasn't been true. Why does that expression hang on?

Dungy:	I think that really it's a mistaken perception. I think you have to be tough to finish at the top of anything that you go after, sports or otherwise. I think for many years we had mistaken the idea that nice and tough can't be simultaneous. I think that the quote should be, "Soft guys finish last." But you can be nice and tough. I think that as a Christian, that's what Jesus would present to us. And that is the message that I am trying to get across.

Dr. Mark Rutland currently serves as president of both Global Servants and Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida. His thirty-minute daily radio program, Herald of Joy, is heard in multiple markets. Through Global Servants, Rutland has founded ministries in Ghana, and Thailand. The House of Grace home for tribal girls in Chiang Rai, Thailand was founded in 1988, and houses over 100 girls.

A native of Texas, he was educated at the University of Maryland, Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, and holds a Ph.D. from California Graduate School of Theology. Rutland is the author of twelve books: Launch Out into the Deep, The Finger of God, Hanging by a Thread, Behind the Glittering Mask, Streams of Mercy, God of the Valleys, Nevertheless, Dream, Character Matters, Power, Holiness and his latest book, Resurrection. Mark and Alison Rutland have one son, two daughters, two grandsons, and one granddaughter.

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