Imagine having a son or daughter who dies. Doesn’t any person expect to outlive his children? Imagine having a child die while you are in a profession that puts you in the public spotlight every day. Wouldn’t that compound a person’s grief and make the situation more difficult? How would someone in such a situation deal with such heartbreak? Tony Dungy, head football coach of the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League, says he is able to cope because of his Christian faith.
“My faith in Christ is what’s gotten me through this,” Dungy was quoted as saying, by www.juicenewsdaily.com, in a post-practice interview about the death of his son, whose death was ruled a suicide by a medical examiner. James Dungy died in December of 2005 at the age of 18.
Dungy has always been a person who lives out his faith every day, not just when tragedy strikes. He is known for his involvement with community service organizations. At one point in his life, he considered leaving coaching to enter prison ministry.
Tony Dungy has always expressed his faith in a variety of ways. He has always put his faith first, his family second, and football third, and people who know him have respected him for his ethics. He has always been heavily involved in his community. He has started programs to help those in need, while supporting other charitable organizations. Tony Dungy has been a speaker for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Athletes in Action.
Before the death of James Dungy, the Colts had a 13-0 record. As many people pointed out, after the tragedy, it hardly seemed to matter that the team lost its next regular season game to spoil any chance of going undefeated. There are more important things than football.
Colts quarterback Peyton Manning said players were “surprised and upset emotionally” after the tragedy. He said the players on the team were praying for Tony Dungy and his family.
People took note of how well Tony Dungy handled the situation. Dungy was always known for his involvement in helping others and has been called the “Rosa Parks of football.”
Reebok executive said he has not ever met a nicer person than Tony Dungy, who has also lost both of his parents within the last three years. Colts center, Jeff Saturday, said Dungy’s faith and his family are the two most important things in his life, and he and his family will have to depend on their faith. Colts’ President Bill Polian talked with Dungy several times after the death of James Dungy and said Tony Dungy is “the most amazing person in the world.” He called Dungy’s faith his “rock,” and said as much as is possible he was doing okay after the death.
Before he was the head coach of the Colts, Tony Dungy was the head coach of Tampa Bay. Bucs defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, who worked under Dungy, said he knew Dungy could handle the situation, although that would not “mean it’s easy.” He said in spite of how hard the situation was and is, Dungy’s faith would “let him stand strong.”
One of the ways Tony Dungy has been involved in helping others is in being a spokesperson for the African American Program for the American Diabetes Association. He has also been involved in the School Walk for Diabetes campaign. He wants to speak out on how to prevent the disease and how to cope with it. His mother, Cleomae, battled the disease until her death at 81.
Dungy was active in the community in Tampa Bay before he went to Indianapolis. He launched Mentors for Life, a program that provided Bucs tickets to children and their mentors.
In addition to all the charities Tony Dungy is involved with, he and his wife, Lauren, have a daughter, 21-year-old Tiara, and a son, 14-year-old Eric. Before the tragedy hit their family, the couple had decided to adopt an infant son, Justin, and the adoption has been completed. They also have two other adopted children, six-year-old Jordan and four-year-old Jade.
This will be Tony Dungy’s 11 year as an NFL coach and fifth with the Colts. He is the 35th coach in NFL history to win at least 100 games. He is only the sixth NFL coach to win 100 games in his first ten years as coach. He is the winningest coach in the NFL from 1999-2005 with a record of 78-34. That includes a record of 30-18 with Tampa Bay and 48-16 with the Colts. He became the only coach in Colts’ history to produce 10 or more victories and playoff berths in his first four years with the team. His records for those years, which started in 2002, were: 10-6; 12-4; 12-4; 14-2.
With Tampa Bay, his record from 1996-2001 was 54-42, with his team making the playoffs four times in six years.
Many may believe, however, that Tony Dungy’s greatest legacy is not his coaching, but how he has lived his life and displayed his faith-especially after a tragedy.
