For those of you who didn’t know, Tony Dungy retired as an NFL coach today — he had coached the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and most recently, the Indianapolis Colts. He led the Colts to a Super Bowl win in the 2006-07 season.
I had respected Dungy before because he seemed to be a pretty nice guy, never had a bad word to say about anyone, and was an outspoken Christian but didn’t force his views on everybody. His son James committed suicide in 2005 — right before they played my Seahawks, in fact — and hearing the backstory during the game on how Dungy handled it all made me admire him all the more.
I don’t know how many parents could lose children, much less to a suicide, and still praise the Lord through the whole situation. The composure that he kept through those trying times was nothing short of amazing.
I’ll be sad to see Dungy retire from coaching in the NFL, and the league is losing a good guy. But it’s completely understandable that the guy wants to be with his family and focus on ministry now, and for that I say God bless you, Tony Dungy.
And yet, Bill Belichick is still ruling with an iron fist.