Written for Hometown Headlines, a website devoted to news and business in Northwest Georgia.
by Mickey Seward
Super Bowl-winning coach Tony Dungy addressed a packed Steven J. Cage Athletics and Recreation Center crowd Thursday, and Berry College president Dr. Stephen Briggs used the occasion to tease the audience at the non-football playing school with his comments during his welcome speech.
“Wouldn’t this be the perfect moment for a big announcement?” Briggs said. “An intriguing thought, but no, we’re not that crafty.”
Dungy was on campus to speak as part of the college’s Gloria Shatto Lecture Series, which “features speakers who have stood at the crossroads of history,” according to information provided by Berry. Dungy has indeed made history, becoming just the third person to win a Super Bowl as both a player and a coach, and becoming the first African-American coach to win the Super Bowl when he led the Indianapolis Colts to the championship in January, 2007. He retired from coaching following the 2008 season.
After his introduction from Berry’s Director of Athletics Todd Brooks, an avid Colts' fan, Dungy was greeted with a standing ovation, and was appreciative of the hospitality.
“That reaction is typical of what I’ve enjoyed all afternoon since coming here,” Dungy told the audience. He mentioned that he didn’t know much about Berry College before he was invited to speak but in the past three weeks, he’s run into several people with a connection to the school and the community.
“You’re more famous than you might think,” he said.
Much of Dungy’s speech centered around the theme of perseverance and determination. “The challenge is what is fun,” he said. “I’ve always been intrigued by it. I’ve always enjoyed a tough challenge.”
Mean Joe's message: 'Never to get discouraged'
He relayed the story of how, during his playing days as a Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back, future NFL Hall of Fame linebacker “Mean Joe” Green taught him that if you don’t persevere through adversity, you can miss the reward.
In 1969, Green was the first player drafted by new Steelers Head Coach Chuck Noll after a stellar career at North Texas State. After winning their first game in Green’s rookie year, the Steelers finished 1-13. Following that season, they drafted future Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw out of Louisiana Tech and went on to finish 4-10.
With high expectations for 1972, Pittsburgh was struggling after the first several weeks. Green watched a Monday Night Football game featuring the Miami Dolphins, which would complete an undefeated season that year, and felt like his own team would never be able to put things together like that Dolphins squad did.
The next day, a frustrated Green told Noll he was quitting, and headed to the airport to go home. But Steelers assistant coach Lionel Taylor met Green at the airport and would talk him into coming back. That week ,rookie running back Franco Harris started for the first time and the team began an eight-game winning streak. The Steelers would go on to build the most dominant professional football team of the 1970s, winning four Super Bowls between 1975 and 1980.
“Joe Green told me that story to remind me never to get discouraged,” Dungy said. “I learned that he almost missed the fun, because he almost didn’t hang in there long enough.”
'You are going to have more setbacks than victories'
Now Dungy spends his time sharing a similar message. “In the course of getting to a top level, you are going to have more setbacks than victories,” he said. “Todd (Brooks) mentioned that I became the third person to win a Super Bowl as a player and as a head coach. What he didn’t mention was that those two Super Bowls were 26 years apart.
“What I’ve learned in those years between Super Bowls is important. Adversity teaches you that you can’t give up.”
Dungy told the audience that the best illustrations relating to perseverance always come from the Bible, sharing in particular the story of the life of the Apostle Paul, Paul’s conversion to Christianity and the many setbacks and difficulties he faced as he followed his mission to preach the gospel.
Dungy said Paul was able to fight through adversity because he had a worthy goal, because he was prepared for adversity and because he had something and someone to rely on beside himself.
“That’s what teams are built on – relying on each other for strength,” Dungy said. “In my life, the best thing has been having faith in God. Praying and talking to Him has always allowed me to persevere. If you have that support system and faith in God, there’s no limit to what you can do if you don’t give up.”
Dungy said at an earlier media briefing that when he left the sidelines, he did so not because he was tired but because“I had things I wanted to go to. I wasn’t leaving to get away from football.”
Those new challenges include working with Family First, which speaks to fathers about connecting with their children, and a prison ministry in the Tampa area.
“I’m also looking for one way to specifically reach out to young men,” he said. “I’m not sure exactly what that is yet, but I’m looking for that.” He said he encourages young people to not follow the crowd but instead understand what it means to follow the Lord.
Dungy, who also is the best-selling author of Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices and Priorities of a Winning Life and Uncommon: Finding Your Path to Significance as well as the children’s book You Can Do It, said he and his wife, Lauren, have been in contact with publishers about writing a second children’s book.
“When a young man says he read the book and it spoke to something he’s going through, it’s very rewarding.”
Player, coach, father, husband, author... and broadcaster?
And Dungy hasn’t completely nixed the idea of joining an NFL broadcasting team. “I’ve had a job that’s tied me up on the weekends for 31 years,” he said. “But I have had some contact with the networks and if I could find a way to fit it in with the other things I’m doing, I might consider it.”
Despite his busy schedule, Dungy did say he will miss one thing about coaching. “I’ll miss the game days, I’m sure, but what I miss more than anything else is the day-to-day interaction with the players.”
The opportunity for day-to-day interaction with football players may not be gone, however. Even with that packed schedule, Dungy may still have another career move to mull over in the future.
“If we ever do start a football team, we will give you a call,” Briggs said with a smile.
