2008 Woodie Awards
Inside the Lines: Coach Dungy's "Quiet Strength" is reflected both on and off the field
J. Andrew Horvath
Issue date: 2/21/08 Section: Sports
Picture the archetypal football coach. He's gruff and gritty. He's terse and harsh in speech, heavy and lumbering in action. He's unrelenting and often unforgiving. He's the type of guy that will grab your facemask, pulling you in as close as possible to his own face so that you catch absolutely every whiff of his tobacco-soaked breath as he spits out commands and corrections.
If you're lucky, you'll only have to do up-downs for an hour if you go offside during practice. Now picture a minister. He's reserved, with a certain quiet strength about him that radiates both comfort and inspiration to those around him. He is looked to for guidance, and hardly ever fails to provide it.
When Tony Dungy walks into a room, it is fairly easy to tell what he reflects more accurately. Tony Dungy, however, is not at all a man of archetypes, or for that matter, stereotypes. Dungy is one of only six black head coaches in the National Football League, and is working on continuing those opportunities for other minority candidates. Keep in mind, the NFL is a league where, when Tony Dungy was a rookie, could boast only seven minority assistant coaches in total.
Dungy has gained a certain level of notoriety during his tenure as a successful head coach, only heightened by becoming the first black head coach to win the Super Bowl. This has allowed him to move to the forefront of the continued integration of the sporting world. Strongly influenced by his Christian roots, Dungy sees his position and level of exposure as a way to spread the good news and help improve peoples' lives. In fact, Dungy described his position as a football coach as a ministry during his speech at Edgerton Theater on Tuesday night. He stresses unity in deed, with diversity in body. The greatest asset to a successful football team is their ability to get people on the same page, despite their differences and the backgrounds that inform them.
If you're lucky, you'll only have to do up-downs for an hour if you go offside during practice. Now picture a minister. He's reserved, with a certain quiet strength about him that radiates both comfort and inspiration to those around him. He is looked to for guidance, and hardly ever fails to provide it.
When Tony Dungy walks into a room, it is fairly easy to tell what he reflects more accurately. Tony Dungy, however, is not at all a man of archetypes, or for that matter, stereotypes. Dungy is one of only six black head coaches in the National Football League, and is working on continuing those opportunities for other minority candidates. Keep in mind, the NFL is a league where, when Tony Dungy was a rookie, could boast only seven minority assistant coaches in total.
Dungy has gained a certain level of notoriety during his tenure as a successful head coach, only heightened by becoming the first black head coach to win the Super Bowl. This has allowed him to move to the forefront of the continued integration of the sporting world. Strongly influenced by his Christian roots, Dungy sees his position and level of exposure as a way to spread the good news and help improve peoples' lives. In fact, Dungy described his position as a football coach as a ministry during his speech at Edgerton Theater on Tuesday night. He stresses unity in deed, with diversity in body. The greatest asset to a successful football team is their ability to get people on the same page, despite their differences and the backgrounds that inform them.
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