How Faith Guided Legendary NFL Coach Tony Dungy’s Career
By Movieguide® Contributor
Legendary NFL coach and player Tony Dungy kept his faith first throughout his career, earning the respect of players and peers.
Dungy has consistently emphasized the central role of his Christian faith in his life, often mentioning that his faith in God guides his decisions and actions.
On the “Jesus Calling” podcast, Dungy shared how he coached in a way that created an “environment where we all worked together, and we all tried to help each other be better.”
“I made a decision I was going to be different. And not everybody was ready for that,” he added.
For Dungy, “different” meant not swearing or yelling at his players and treating them with respect.
This strategy brought him success. However, he shared with Religion News Services that he gives God the credit, regardless of the circumstances.
“I think the world looks at us in our times of disappointment much more so than they look at us in our times of triumph. If I see someone who wins the Super Bowl and they give credit to God, I’m going to say, well, that’s normal. That’s a natural thing,” Dungy said.
“How is that person going to be when it doesn’t go well? For me, that was always convicting. I have to model my behavior and model my dependence on Christ even when we don’t win,” he explained.
“So how are people going to look at me when I get fired? How are they going to look at me when we do lose the game on a bad call at the end of the game?” he added. “That to me is much more important than how I act when things are going smoothly.”
Dungy’s trajectory to the NFL began at the University of Minnesota, where he played as a quarterback from 1973 to 1976. He was the team’s starting quarterback during his senior year.
After college, Dungy had a brief stint in the NFL as a safety. He was an undrafted free agent who signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1977. During his time in the NFL, he played for the Steelers (1977–1978), San Francisco 49ers (1979) and New York Giants (1980).
Dungy’s coaching career began as the defensive backs coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers (1981–1983) and then as the defensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs (1989–1991) and the Minnesota Vikings (1992–1995). From 1996-2001, Dungy served as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Dungy is perhaps best known for his tenure as the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 2002-2008. During that time, he helped guide the team to consistent success, including winning Super Bowl XLI in the 2006 season. Dungy was the first African-American head coach to win a Super Bowl. He retired following the 2008 season.
Movieguide® previously reported the moment Dungy put his faith first:
…Dungy started spending more time with the 20 “really, really strong, committed Christian guys on that team.”
“And they invited me to Bible studies, and they invited me to chapel, and for the first time, I really started reading the Bible, trying to get out of it what those guys got out of it,” he continued.
The football coach said the situation reminded him of his mother’s favorite verse, Matthew 16:26: “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”
He explained, “That’s what these guys we’re trying to get through to my head. You’ve got to have eternity in mind. You can’t just focus on the sport. And I learned that as a 21-year-old, and that’s when I first started really carving out that time, going to chapels, going to players’ Bible studies, and really trying to grow in my faith.”
