Super Bowl Coaches

One of my blogger friends who regularly visits one of my blogs posted something I thought was very well written. I thought some of you super bowl fans would maybe enjoy reading it as well. I don't even like football and I enjoyed reading it. This guy's name is Jared.......and NO he's not a member of the davidphelps.com message board.....hahaha!

Here is what he wrote:


The Right Man For The Job
Posted by KingJaymz

The Bucaneers didn't think he could cut it. In spite of the fact that he completely turned the team around from constant losers to division contenders, Tampa Bay fired Tony Dungy in 2002. They just thought he could never win the big one. Maybe it's the fact that he never raises his voice at his players. Maybe it was the way he conducted himself, with character qualities like humility and gentle love. Maybe they just got greedy and wanted more now and weren't sure he could deliver it. So they fired Tony and brought in John Gruden. Gruden took the team that Dungy had assembled to the Superbowl and won the very next year. Then, the Bucs started to slide. Now, with John Gruden, they are back to where they were before they hired Tony Dungy. The last I saw of Tony was on the winner's podium at Superbowl XLI.

Tony Dungy is a true class act. I know that it is easy to say that coaches or teams deserve it, but even the commentators on ESPN noted that and said that Tony really does deserve it.

Much was made of him and Lovie Smith being the first two black head coaches to take teams to the Superbowl, yet when Tony got to the podium he didn't allow that fact "overshadow" what he really valued. The guy interviewing him mentioned it, and Tony said that he was honored to be the first black head coach to win the Superbowl, but he said that the most important thing to him was showing the world that coaching the Lord's way (as he referred to it) could produce championship teams. I referred to it earlier. He is gentle with his men. He doesn't scream or yell or throw fits when his guys don't do what he wants them to. He mentors and disciples them. All of them asked said that they wanted to win the big one for Tony because they love and respect him. Wow.

Many thank God after a big win. It seems pretty popular to do. I wouldn't question the genuineness of many players' faith, mostly because I don't care too much to know about the personal lives of those guys. I have a real life of my own, and I don't care to waste it on studying the lives of current professional sports stars. But Tony thanked God for giving the Colts the victory, and even the commentators spent minutes of air time (not seconds, minutes) talking about how a lot of players/coaches say that after a big win, but that it really, really meant something coming from Tony.

In all this, let it not be lost that Lovie Smith, the head coach of the Chicago Bears (the losing team) was a disciple of Tony's. Tony hired Lovie ten years ago as an assistant in Tampa Bay. The men became good friends, and they share a common faith in Christ. Lovie coaches much like Tony, and just like him in the sense that he never raises his voice at his players. Lovie and Tony spent every free minute they had this last week together, celebrating what they had achieved together. They both made strong statements before the game that no matter who won that they would still love each other and that they would be great friends, always. After the loss, Lovie said something to the effect that he was happy for Tony and that there was no one he would rather lose to.

Both men are awesome guys, but I was really pulling for Tony. I wanted this for him real bad, because in early December 2005, just before a hot play-off season with great expectations for the Colts, his oldest son, James (I believe), committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. You could see how it devestated the entire team. They wanted to win it all for Tony, bad. You could see how they loved him. Tony said, giving his son's eulogy, that God is there, even in the times of great pain. And you could see he meant that. Tony loves his kids, and they are involved in his coaching life, too. James had been a ball boy and involved with equipment stuff at Tampa Bay and Indy. His wife and kids are frequent visitors to the facilities, proving that stuff like that can be a strength in football, not a distraction as so many coaches and general managers label it.

In short: Tony deserved this, big time. He is a consistent man of consistent faith and constant love. A commentator said that he is a great representative to make this first big step for "African-American" coaches. He quickly followed that up with that more importantly he is a wonderful role-model for all men of any color. I have carped much about my desire to be discipled. I think if I could have one thing asked and granted on this earth, it would be to be discipled in my faith and life by Tony Dungy. It is more than just rhetoric with him. He truly is "God's man in football."

Mike Holmgren, the coach for my team, the Seattle Seahawks, is a man of great faith too. He and his family are huge supporters of Northwest Medical Teams, and his wife and daughter go on missions with them frequently (as a matter of fact, they were on a mission when the Seahawks played in the Superbowl last year). I'll be pulling for him or Lovie to take the Lombardi trophy home next year now that the man I most revere is getting his moment in the sun.