Congrats to Jim Caldwell, the next Indy coach.

As classy a man as you'll ever see in the NFL.  Now he has stepped down, he can reconnect with his family and maybe take some time to properly grieve for his son.  In the 24/7/365 world of being an NFL head coach, I seriously doubt he's had ample time to do so.  I hope he stays involved with the league in some capacity, as they are better for having people like Tony Dungy associated with them.

I would say he's better than average. I'd say he's the Peyton Manning of coaches. Excellent in the regular season, but just couldn't manage to get it done when it counts... except for that one time, where they caught some amazing breaks, and went up against people like Rex Grossman and Herm Edwards, who were the only people capable of screwing up worse in crunch time than Peyton and Tony.

I would argue that Dungy is an underrated coach, at least in terms of impact on the game and should be in the Hall of Fame.  His Tampa 2 defense is now used all over the NFL, he became the first African American to win the Super Bowl, and has opened the door for many other African American coaches (Lovie Smith and Mike Tomlin directly.)  What he has done for the game has gone beyond wins and losses.

I'm looking forward to a day where it doesn't matter if someone was the first African-American to do anything.  I hated that card was played in the days leading up to Super Bowl XLI.  He's a good coach who mentored other good coaches, period.

He's a man, same as any other, and the sooner everyone can look past this and stop celebrating the "first person with this skin color to do ________" the better.

Sure................let someone else (Caldwell) clean up the Marvin Harrison mess !!!!       

That day is a long ways away.  There is still a huge struggle for African-Americans to become coaches, or just positions of leadership in general.  Until thats done, being the first African-American to win the Super Bowl and opening up the doors for other minority coaches is very significant.  Saying what Dungy did is insignificant is like saying what Jackie Robinson or what the 1966 Texas Western team did was insigificant. 

He is a HOF Coach... No Doubt.... He is a class act...

While I understand what you're saying, I think it's safe to say that Dungy faced a lot less adversity than Jackie Robinson or the guys from Texas Western.

I didn't say it was insignificant.  I'm just saying it'll be great when it's so common and the fanfare is unnecessary.  I also think the "NFL teams won't hire minorities" crap is more fiction than fact.  If there is an NFL team out there, right now in 2009, that is so ignorant that they are actively hiring based on race, somebody show me.  If so, they deserve to live in last place forever.

I think the Rooney Rule is ridiculous.  Instead of NFL teams hiring the right guy for the job they have to put on a song and dance and interview people to basically fulfill a racial quota.  Isn't that just as racist and insulting?  It certainly doesn't promote an environment of equality.

I'm off-topic a little bit and I apologize.  I look at Tony Dungy as a good coach, good man, a man of faith, and a decent NFL player first before I ever see "a black man".  I think guilty old white men and some members of the media keep the race issue at the forefront, and that's wrong.  In the 43 years since that Texas Western (now UTEP) team took the court, you would think we would have progressed a little further in race relations in this country.

I didn't vote for the man, but maybe having a multi-racial President will dispel some of this nonsense in the coming years.  I sure hope so.

Playoff failures or not, it's still incredible what the Colts have done in the regular season.  A hall of famer and a great man.  Best of luck to Dungy.

Like you, I see Dungy as a good coach, good man, man of faith, (never saw him play so can't say anything about him being a player) before I see a black man.  Unfortunately, not all of us do though.  I also agree that it will be a great day when the fanfare isn't necessary. 

As for the Rooney Rule... I hate the token interview, but thats what Mike Tomlin was for the Steelers and not only has he been hired but he's been very successful.  Despite its obvious flaws, I'd have to say that the Rooney Rule has been a good thing.

Also, the PQ wasn't from me.

To be sure, there have been some coaches that have benefitted from The Rooney Rule, and it's nice to see the Steelers practice what they preach in hiring Tomlin, who has been an excellent coach so far.  Then again, you look at guys like Ted Cottrell, who was interviewed a bunch of times for coaching positions but never given a job.  That's the guy I worry about.  A guy who "fits the profile" but isn't really given serious consideration.

I know the PQ wasn't you.  You have more class than that.  We're essentially on the same side of this issue and why would anyone PQ a post FOR racial equality?

Maybe Barry Bonds* has a FanIQ account.

He will be missed

Dungy was a terrific coach and an even better man.  I'm always wary of "players' coaches" in professional sports, but he pulled it off and did so in spades.  His guidance of the Colts was always steady and deserves to be applauded.

That said, Indy needs a makeover.  They need an attitude.  In '05, they had it.  That team was nasty.  They played some sick defensive football.  That was the year Bob Sanders was at the height of torpedo-ishness.  They had a sick linebacking corps.  Freeney was on top of his game, which for Freeney standards, was way up there.  They only reason they failed to win the Super Bowl that year was because they effectively shut it down the last month of the season.  You could see the rust on the players in the first half against the Steelers.  They made a furious comeback and found a way to blow it at the end.  Had they been playing with any sentiment of rhythm, they would have -- mark my words -- beaten the living piss out of Pittsburgh that day.  They had a football team that was as well put-together as last year's Pats.

That was always Dungy's downfall -- his lax treatment of the weeks leading to the playoffs.  Save their Super Bowl year, they couldn't find that extra gear in January that every other team seemed to have.  Truth be told, 100%, I don't place a lion's share of the blame on Manning for their failures, especially in recent years.  The entire team has failed to play with swagger in the spotlight.  If you remember Indy's loss to the Chargers last year, Manning threw for 402.  In this year's loss, I wouldn't call 25/42 for 310, a touch, and no TOs a bad game -- not by a long shot.  When they fell in '05 to the Steelers, he was 22/38 for 290, a touch, and again, no TOs.  In fact, Manning hasn't bowed out in truly embarrassing fashion since he tossed four picks against New England in the '03 season.

The real common denominator?  The Colts have done an abhorrent job of running the football in the postseason.  This is not a recent phenomenon.  Leading rushers, Colts' playoff losses, starting with the most recent:

2008: Addai, 44
2007: Addai, 43
2005: James, 56
2004: James, 39

That is abysmal.  Not surprisingly, Dominic Rhodes ran for 113 in the '06 Super Bowl.

Start there and work your way forward, Mr. Caldwell.

Brother, He's going to do Gods work and that does not include football BUT saving young lives. I wish him the absolute very best in his pursuit of saving generations of lost young men, black and white.

Another reason that Tony and The Colts lost in the playoffs is that they pushed their competition LIKE the competition pushed them to another level of play and when you can push and feel your competition coming at you its a job well done which only means your team needs to get a little better at this time of the year like the others he pushed to succeed him in those games.

I get what you're trying to say, but I don't think Tony Dungy wants to be a savior.  He's much too humble for that.  I think he's a teacher and a leader of men.  Maybe he'll give those young men you speak of the tools to save their own lives. 

If I was ever going to schedule a speaking engagment for my company, I'd be calling Dungy's agent immediately.  Also, if he ever decides to write a book, I'd be among the first to pre-order it on Amazon. :)

AVERAGE!!!!!!???????? What dictionary do you use, brother? He hasn't coached an NFL that HASN'T made the playoffs since 1998. No other coach in the history of the NFL, not George Halas, Don Shula, John Madden, Bill Walsh, Tom Landry, George Allen, Bum Phillips, Tom Flores, Bill Belichick, Bill Parcells, Jimmy Johnson, Vince Lombardi, Chuck Noll (Dungy's mentor) have produced six straight 12 win seasons and ten consecutive postseason appearances. He took a moribund franchise that had been worse than the Lions and the Bengals have been COMBINED (for those youngsters out there looking for reference) and turned them into a perennial playoff team. He has a freaking COACHING TREE: One that has led a team to the SB (Lovie of course LOST TO HIS MENTOR) and one that will likely win a championship this season. I don't think the word average means what you think it means.

He does have a book////////////////////////http://www.amazon.com/Quiet-Strength-Principles-Practices-Priorities/dp/1414318014

Thank you sir.  I will be purchasing that forthwith.

Looks like he's got another coming out in February, too.

Dungy has my respect as a man and as a coach.  He has quietly and humbly stood up for what he believes in and maintained his values in a world where those things could easily fall by the wayside.  I will miss seeing him on the sidelines.

Dungy was a great coach but recently has been making BAD coaching decisions....also ive always been a little pissed that they draft NOBODY until round 6....god i hope this changes

Well, the draft thing would be Bill Polian's fault not Dungy's,.. right?

i didnt mean it to run together like that....what i was meaning is along with Dungys bad decision making (recently) i hope that the not taking a draft pick until late changes also.......