Barrier broken
MIAMI – When the time came, Tony Dungy would wear history well. If there was anything you knew about him, from way back, it was that.
“I’m proud to be representing African-American coaches, to be the first African-American to win this,” Dungy said, amid a rain of confetti (and of rain) at the end of Super Bowl XLI.
“It means an awful lot to our country. But, again, more than anything, I’ve said it before, Lovie Smith and I are not only the first two African-American coaches but Christian coaches showing that you can win doing it the Lord’s way. We’re more proud of that.”
When the time came, Dungy would remember those who came before him. You knew that, too. It was impossible that he would forget.
“I thought about that as I was up there on the podium,” Dungy said, remembering the moment, with the scoreboard winking down at him – Colts 29, Bears 17 – and the Colts’ fans cheering and the occasion demanding some clarity.
“I really have to dedicate this to some guys who came before me,” he said. “When I came in the league in 1981, Jimmy Raye and Sherman Lewis and Lionel Taylor, those guys were in the league already, great coaches that I know could have done this if they had gotten an opportunity.
“The Lord gave me the opportunity, Lovie and I, and we were able to take advantage of it. But we’re certainly not the best, certainly not the most qualified. I know there are some other guys that could have done it if given the chance. I just felt good that I was the first one to be able to do it and kind of represent those guys who paved the way for me.”
Dungy was right in so many ways. For those who see the greatest significance in his race, there is that. For those who see the significance of his faith, there also is that. And make no mistake: Dungy might be the first guy to win this thing who is known throughout the NFL as a man who does not curse, as a man who does not raise his voice, as a man who does not lead by intimidation.
The icon is Vince Lombardi. His name is on the silver trophy that Dungy so lovingly held. But so unlike the old man, no one is afraid of Tony Dungy. The argument can now be made, though, that his players are only afraid to fail him. It is a powerful argument now. It is an argument that has been made through the game’s biggest megaphone.
And on a rainy, messy night when the Bears punched first with Devin Hester’s 92-yard touchdown return of the opening kickoff, this low-key but determined approach was the Colts’ salvation.
“We have a tight-knit group,” Dungy said. “This may not have been our best team in the last five years but it was certainly the team that had been through the most, that had prepared the most, and was ready to fight this four-week battle that we had to fight. I’m very proud of our guys because it didn’t go smooth. It wasn’t the easy road. It was the tough road.
“We talked about this last night, that there would be some storms in the game. Nobody was really shocked, nobody was upset, after the opening kickoff. It was just seven points and we felt we could get back in it.”
And they did. For Dungy, it would be the ultimate personal redemption – that is, if he were willing to grab it. Because he brought the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the brink with the same, decent approach – but was fired when the Super Bowl eluded him. And the Colts, too, carried a lot of the same burdens. Too nice. Too decent. Lacking the killer something.
All of that is now gone.
“I think the disappointments that you have along the way make it feel that much better when you finally do accomplish it,” Dungy said. “I came in as a player (with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970s) and won my second year and really kind of thought that was the way it goes, and that it was easy. With the disappointments, you get to appreciate how hard it is to do. It means more.”