Tony+Dungy

Tony Dungy Quiet Strength BB

Tony Dungy was a coach at many professional football teams, and coached the Indianapolis Colts to the superbowl. He started his professional career playing for the Pittsburg steelers in 1977. Since the end of his playing career, Tony has coached at many professional football teams such as the Vikings, the Buccaneers, and the Colts. He is currently retired but is helping Eagles quarterback Michael Vick get back on his feet after his jail time. Tony has three sons and two daughters and Currently resides in Tampa Bay with his wife, Lauren. Tony had another son, Jamie, who commited suicide at age 18. Tony is active in many christian orginazations, especially with The Fellowship of Christian Atheletes. Although tony is a retired coach, he does not stay far from professional football as he is seen often on television commentating on games.

Tony wrote a memoir with Nathan Whitaker called "Quiet Strength," in 2006. In this memoir he writes 6 quotes that explain his integrity and/or christianity.

One of my favorite sentances in the book is on page 115 where Dungy writes, "No excuses, no explanations." Many people can say this but, coming from such a successful and respected individual I feel that it is most definitely one of the rules he lives by. Tony says this while talking about his time with the Buccaneers at training camp, which in the NFL, (Or any level of football), is probably the most intense time of the season.

In this same chapter Tony has another quote i found interesting. "We wanted our team to be tough, so we wanted camp to be tough. We wanted the grass on the field to give out during the first thunderstorm. We wanted the dorm rooms to be spartan." This quote exemplifies how intense he wanted this camp to be. He wanted his players to have uniform dorm rooms like the legendary spartans, he wanted the grass to wear out making the practices even more difficult. Tony Dungy wanted them to be warriors.

Also while coaching at the Bucs, Dungy had a set of "rules," so to speak, which are the following: "Be a pro. Act like a champion. Respond to adversity; don't react. Be on time. Being late either means it's not important to you or you can't be relied on." The last rule I listed is my favorite. I have only thought of tardiness as being behind or just running late, but Dungy explains how important it is to be on time. My high school football coach Phil Massey always says the little things mean the most and obviously the Super-bowl winning Colts Coach Tony Dungy feels the same way.

In this youtube video, Dungy explains his definition of quiet strength. I feel that not many other men may speak about this trait as well has Dungy because of the challenges he has overcome in his life, especially the death of his oldest son.

media type="youtube" key="AYNi51v4cfU" height="344" width="425" Perhaps the best line in the whole book, is a quote not by Tony Dungy but CleoMae Dungy: "It's always easier to do things the wrong way, but it's always best to do them the right way." This is a great quote for quiet strength. Sometimes it is so much easier to do things the wrong way, and most do them that way. But those special people with that Quiet Strength do things the right way, and almost always will come out on top.

On page 137, Dungy talks about how people criticize players when they do not really know what they are talking about. stating that fans "seem to think that players live in a vacuum, not subject to the same pressures and problems as the rest of us." Obviously that is not true because Dungy writes about a kicker named Michael Husted who missed many field goals that season. During the time he missed the field goals, his mother was dying of cancer. Husted never once used this as an excuse. Husted had that Quiet strength that Dungy writes about. The power to be relied upon, and the power to not make excuses, two of Dungy pet-peeves. I feel that this quiet strength is one of the great challenges we all have in life.

Works Cited "Huffington Post". The Huffington Post. 11/16/09 .

"Tony Dungy". TYNDALE HOUSE PUBLISHERS. 11/10/09 

wikipedia, "Tony Dungy". wikipedia. 11/10/09 .

Tony, Dungy, and Nathan Whitaker __Quiet Strength: The Principals, Practices, and Priorities of a Winning Life__. Carol Stream Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, 2007.