He was my favorite coach who's name wasn't Bill Cowher. It didn't hurt that Dungy was former Pittsburgh Steeler, who studied coaching at the foot of the greatest coach ever, Chuck Noll. He was the secondary coach and eventually defensive coordinator for Coach Noll from 1981 to 1989 before leaving to become Kansas City's secondary coach.
In 1996 he finally became a head coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I instantly became a huge Bucs fan. I was happy to see Tony get the job, but I was kinda pissed that it had to be with one of the worst franchises in sports history. To this day, I think him turning around Tampa Bay is the greatest thing he ever did. I know he went on to become the first Black head coach to win a Super Bowl, but turning around Tampa the way he did was insane. He set the table for them to win the Super Bowl the next year. He built a franchise, not just a team. To me, he technically has 2 Super Bowl titles.
What I loved most about Dungy was the way he went about his business. I am a huge fan of quiet greatness. He never said a word when he was consistently passed over for head coaching positions for years. He just put his head down and kept on producing great defenses. I see him in the same ilk as Marvin Hagler or Barry Sanders. Dungy's a class act and that seems to be a bit of an endangered species these days.
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