Published: November 03, 2009 11:59 pm      

EXCLUSIVE: Q and A with Tony Dungy

Former Colts coach talks football, new television role

Prior to his speech in the Chick-fil-A “Desire to Inspire” Dinner Series at Northside Christian Church in New Albany on Tuesday night, Evening News and Tribune sports writer Kevin Harris conducted a brief but exclusive interview with former Indianapolis Colts’ head coach Tony Dungy.

Here is Harris’ one-on-one, question-and-answer session with the Super Bowl XLI-winning coach:



• QUESTION: How much have you enjoyed being an analyst on “Football Night in America” on NBC this season?

• DUNGY: “I have really enjoyed it. It allows me to stay involved with football, but I have my weekdays free to do things like this and ministry things and spend time with my family. It’s kind of the best of both worlds.”

• QUESTION: How much have you missed coaching?

• DUNGY: “You know what, I haven’t missed it, and I think that is because I really retired to something else. I didn’t just retire from football. I knew I wanted to do some different outreach things. I’ve been involved with All-Pro Dad, but I wanted to do more. I had been involved with a prison outreach in Tampa (Fla.), and it gave me time to do more of that. I’ve been looking for a channel or a venue to do some youth outreach, and I’ve gotten to do things like this today. I’ve got a senior in high school, who’s a pretty good football player. I’ve been getting to watch him play and watch him in the recruiting process. I’ve just been able to do a lot of rewarding things, so I haven’t missed the coaching part very much.”

• QUESTION: The Colts (7-0) are off to another great start this season. What do you think of them thus far?

• DUNGY: “It’s kind of what we expected. This is the best I’ve seen them play other than the 2005 season when we started with 13 straight wins. That was a special team that really played well. This team seems to be more complete than even our Super Bowl team. They are probably playing better than I’ve seen the Colts play in the last four years.”

• QUESTION: How proud are you to see them picking up where you left off?

• DUNGY: “I’m very, very happy for (current Colts’ head coach) Jim Caldwell. There was no doubt in my mind that he would do an outstanding job. He’s gotten them focused. The veteran guys have done an exceptional job of whatever little differences they are (between him and Caldwell) and not letting them upset things. It’s been really gratifying to see — it really has.”

• QUESTION: Well, you are in the media now, so you’ve got to give me your honest opinion. At this point, which teams do you envision playing in the Super Bowl in February in Miami?

• DUNGY: “There are still teams that can come on, and the top teams at the halfway point are not always the ones that are going to win it. But if it was played today, you would have to say Indianapolis and New Orleans because they are playing better than anyone. I think New England is a team you still have to look out for. I still think they are getting better and better as (quarterback) Tom Brady gets more and more comfortable. I still want to see where Minnesota goes. They’re not playing as well on defense as they would like. But if they can get (defensive back) Antoine Winfield back, he’ll make a big difference. There is going to be some team that has a couple of losses right now that can get in a groove. Philadelphia in the last two weeks has looked as impressive as anybody. But it would be hard right now to pick against New Orleans and Indy with the way they’re playing.”

• QUESTION: Which NFL team is the biggest disappointment this season?

• DUNGY: “You have to say Tennessee when you consider the fact that they won 13 games last year. That’s probably been the biggest disappointment.”

— Staff writer Kevin Harris