Before speaking at the annual Southwest Florida Fellowship of Christian Athletes banquet Thursday, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy met with a special visitor.
Jennifer Royce of Indianapolis was struggling with her inner demons when she read Dungy’s 2007 book "Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices and Priorities of a Winning Life." Royce accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior through the testimony shared by Dungy in his memoir.
“Over the years, I tried reading the Bible, but was having trouble getting what I needed out of it,” an emotional Royce told Dungy before the event at Naples Grande Beach Resort. “Your book really inspired me and showed me what God’s love was all about.”
After Dungy signed her book and took a few pictures with Royce and her fiancée, Eric Carrillo, he discussed how much moments like this one mean to him.
“When you’re a little kid, you dream about doing things, maybe playing in the NFL or even playing in the Super Bowl,” the 2016 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee said. “But you can’t really fathom that you’re going to impact someone’s life. To be able to tell my story and to tell young people especially, ‘Hey, you’ve got to look to the Lord and make sure you have your life in order.’
"That’s much more important than the job you end up with, or what team you end up playing for. To see that come to fruition and know you’ve helped someone, it’s just a great feeling.”
Dungy won a Super Bowl as a player in just his second season in the NFL, leading the 1978 Pittsburgh Steelers with six interceptions as a backup safety. His playing career was over just two years later, when he embarked on a remarkable coaching odyssey.
Along the way, he became the youngest assistant coach at age 25 and the youngest coordinator in league history three years later, both with the Steelers. He later became the defensive coordinator with the Minnesota Vikings in 1992, guiding the top-rated defense in the league. That led him to his first head-coaching gig in Tampa Bay, where he went 6-10 in his first season – the only losing season he had in 13 years.
Dungy spent six years in Tampa Bay and seven in Indianapolis, leading the Colts to victory in Super Bowl XLI. Including the playoffs, Dungy posted a career record of 148-79 (.652 winning percentage). His teams made the playoffs in each of his last 10 seasons, including all seven with the Colts.
“I won a Super Bowl as a player in my second year in the league and I kind of thought ‘Hey, this is easy’ but you go 28 years and keep trying to get back there, and I wasn’t able to do it,” he said. “You realize how difficult it is, how much has to go into it. But when we won Super Bowl XLI (41), I remember looking at the field, looking at all our fans celebrating, all our players celebrating, all our families celebrating. You start to realize, this isn’t just about your organization. It’s the city, the whole state. It’s the all these families. That’s very, very rewarding.”
While with the Colts, Dungy worked closely with Immokalee graduate Edgerrin James. Although James hasn’t yet reached the Hall of Fame, Dungy believes that time is soon coming for Immokalee’s favorite son.
“Edgerrin was really talented, number one,” Dungy said. “He could do everything on the football field as far as running backs are concerned. He ranks with the best I’ve ever been around, guys who were complete. Guys that could run inside, guys that could run outside. Guys who could block, guys who could catch the football. He was so rounded, he could do everything.”
As good as James was on the field, Dungy said he was an even better person off it.
“I really enjoyed Edgerrin as a person, as a teammate,” he said. “I know how much he did here in Immokalee, how important that was to him. He told me about some of the things he did here for young people, and he was always bringing young people around with him. I think I enjoyed that as much as his on-the-field talent.”
Dungy also worked with another all-time great in future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning. He said Manning’s preparation was always second to none, as was his constant drive to make his teammates better.
“(Manning) wanted to be good but he wanted his teammates to be good,” he said. “It was important to him for the team to do well. He was a great leader. Some people are just born with that and I think he definitely had that, the ability to inspire other people.”