Tony Dungy is one the most respected men to ever coach in the National Football League. He was the first African American head coach to win a Super Bowl and several of his former assistant coaches from Tampa Bay, as well as Indianapolis, are now head coaches around the NFL.
Dungy has become one of the top analysts in the business and he fits right in as a member of the outstanding cast on NBC’s “Football Night in America.” This week he is looking at tape of a team he knows well — the Colts — and a coach he can relate to in the Redskins’ new boss Mike Shanahan.
In 2002, Dungy got fired from Tampa Bay before moving on to the Colts where the rest is history. This week, we talked about Shanahan, the Redskins and moral issues in the NFL.
Like Shanahan, you were a successful coach who got fired. Has Shanahan changed as a coach?
Mike is like I was when I left Tampa Bay. He is a competitor and as such you simply want to win and what has impressed me most is that he has been able to establish his system so quickly. He has been in control since day one and the players have responded well to his style. Mike has worked hard with Donovan McNabb to find ways to throw the deep ball and it has paid off. System-wise, they are not there yet. But they are learning the offense and the defense. They have beaten Dallas, Philly and Green Bay which proves they are right now one of the better teams in the NFC. You have to think that as they really grasp Mike’s system they will get even better.
You have seen the Redskins on tape and broken them down? Are they a team that is capable of making the playoffs?
I have to tell you that I am surprised the Redskins are 3-2 and in first place in the East. That shows you this team is sold on this organization. The Redskins, Giants, Eagles, Saints, Packers, Falcons and Cowboys are all poised to make a run at the NFC playoffs and I see no reason why Washington can’t be a playoff team.
Over the past few years some of the NFL’s biggest stars have gotten in trouble. How do you see the role the league is playing in policing their own players?
We live in an age of instant media so players have to know that they will not get away with anything. The key is for players not to put themselves in compromising situations. They have to be smart and know that they are always representing their teams and their families. I think the NFL has done a good job educating the players about proper conduct, but it really is up to the individual to act like an adult at all times.
Examiner columnist Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Check out his blog, Watch this!
