Quiet Strength
By Tony Dungy
Published by Tyndale House Publishers
The Book's Purpose
* Follow Tony Dungy through tough times and victorious highlights of his career
* Demonstrate why Tony has become a well-respected hero~on and off the field
* Reveal how Tony successfully integrates his Christian faith into every aspect of his life
* Show God’s hand of guidance in Tony’s life and divine connections that lead and keep Tony on the right path
The Book's Message
Tony Dungy proves it’s possible to be wildly successful while still maintaining the priorities of faith, family, and integrity in the competitive, ego-driven world of professional sports. He demonstrates that a person can possess the drive and desire to win it all, yet do so with a servant’s heart.
Tony is a role model for many throughout the NFL, for families, and for those touched by his ministry work. As we learn how Tony came to be such a role model, we’ll discover how we, too, can practically use our faith to influence those around us.
The Formative Years
I owe my on- and off-field successes to God and my parents. My early years provided the framework necessary to develop the character, resolve, and faith I would eventually need to take me where God wanted me to go.
Childhood Memories
I grew up in the sixties in the small town of Jackson, Michigan, but I knew I wasn’t destined to stay there. Most of my friends took jobs in the auto industry after graduating from high school, then got married, and never planned to move from Jackson. My parents were college graduates, and they expected their kids to be as well. They regularly encouraged us to discover what we wanted to do and then to pursue our dreams. “More than anything, my mom and dad focused on exercising our brains, building both knowledge and character.” All three of my siblings are very successful at what they do, and it’s because of the values instilled in us. In addition to expanding our knowledge base, my parents wanted to expand our interest in sports. We all played whatever sport was in season.
My father, a scientist and an educator, loved to teach us kids how things worked. But he was most interested in imparting character. My father taught me, “what’s important is not the accolades and memories of success but the way you respond when opportunities are denied.” I learned that even though I can’t control my circumstances, I can control my attitude and my response. I use what my father taught me daily~and minute by minute on game day.
I can’t overstate the value of the lessons I learned growing up. My parents taught me persistence, the importance of living up to my potential, and the value of education. Most importantly, they taught me faith. For as long as I can remember, I understood who Jesus is. I knew that He died for my sins and that if I asked Him into my life, I would one day go to heaven. Even so, it would be many years before I really knew what it meant for Jesus to be number one in my life.
A Young Athlete
Basketball had always been my favorite sport, but I played football as well. During my high school sophomore and junior years, I was the starting quarterback. As a result of what I felt was a race-based injustice against a friend and teammate, I took a stand and quit the team after my junior year. After talking it over with my coach and the team administrator, I realized my decision had been a rash one, and so I reversed it. Staying on the team my senior year ultimately opened many doors for me down the road.
The first door was a scholarship to play football at the University of Minnesota. After listening to my coach’s first speech, which told us that only one or two of us would make it to the NFL, I realized that if I were to become great, it would have to be through my own hard work and not my natural abilities. This led to some decisions regarding my personal values.
It was common for most of my teammates to regularly drink, smoke, and use illegal drugs. Previously, I chose not to do such things, thinking it would hinder my performance. But these guys proved that wasn’t the case. My decision moved to moral reasoning, and my verdict remained the same. I still hung out with the guys and realized I didn’t have to give in to fit in. By the time I graduated from Minnesota, I had earned a twotime team MVP award and a twotime Academic All-Big Ten award. I was sure I was headed to the NFL as a quarterback. But when draft day came, the phone never rang.
Hitting the Big Time
Giving It All to God
I ended up getting a lot of calls to play other positions as well as an opportunity to play for the Canadian Football League. None of these opportunities matched my dream of being an NFL quarterback. So I prayed, seeking God’s guidance. I was still feeling led to play in the NFL when my college coach reentered the picture. He was now a coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and he thought I would fit in well there.
I signed with the Steelers~very excited, but also a little concerned. They had such an awesome team already; where could I possibly fit in? I have always wished I could hear God’s voice clearly at a time like this, but I’ve never had a burning-bush experience like Moses had.
“My dad always believed that God uses the logic and the passion He’s given us to help direct us, and I believe that too ... I headed off to Pittsburgh with no idea what God had in store for me.”
Turns out, God’s plans for me in Pittsburgh included much more than football. My teammates were some of the toughest guys I had ever met, yet by drawing their strength from God, they also had some of the gentlest spirits. I joined their Bible study, and my life began to change. The concept of putting God first in everything I did hadn’t been my primary focus. Finally I understood, and I started to move from being a casual Christian to a fully committed follower of Jesus.
I played safety during training camp and preseason. After our final preseason game, I anxiously waited all weekend for a phone call telling me I’d been cut from the team. I had heard earlier that I was on the “cut list.” Once again, the phone call never came. But this time it meant good news~I had made the team! The following season started out rough. I had come down with mononucleosis, and it kept me from being able to practice. I knew I had to stay conditioned to keep the new guys from taking my spot. I was concerned I was losing valuable time.
One of my teammates, Donnie Shell, a committed Christian, called me on my attitude. He told me that although I claimed to put God first, when my plans went awry, it was obvious that my career was more important than God. At that point, I began to truly understand what it means to be a Christian. “It was the first time I was able to look at football as something that God was allowing me to do, not something that should define me….[it] was the first season in my life in which sports weren’t the most important thing to me.”
“God had me here for a reason, and it wasn’t just to play ball.”
It ended up being an amazing season. God firmly held the first-place position in my life, and, after going 14-2 on the year, we beat Dallas to become Super Bowl champions.
Learning to Lead
Unfortunately, the mountaintop experience of winning the Super Bowl didn’t last long. The following season I was traded to the San Francisco 49ers~the worst team in football! But now that God was my priority, I wasn’t concerned. After only one season with the 49ers, I was traded again, this time to the New York Giants. I still wasn’t concerned, but I realized my days as a player were over. God had another plan for me, back in Pittsburgh. He wanted me to coach. And get married. Marriage had been the last thing on my mind as a 25-year-old athlete. But through a series of divinely ordained circumstances, God led me to Lauren, now my wife of 26 years.
After coaching three years in Pittsburgh, I was promoted to defensive coordinator. It was a short run for me, however, and we left Pittsburgh after one more season. I had a few options for where to go next, and I decided on Kansas City. Despite some painfully long hours in Kansas City, I enjoyed coaching more than anything I had ever done. I learned a lot in Kansas City and grew tremendously as a coach and as a person. Once again, however, our time there was short-lived. God had led me to take a position with the Minnesota Vikings. And, although Lauren hated moving from Kansas City, working for the Vikings was just the preparation I needed to eventually become a head coach. I began gaining a reputation in Minnesota for my coaching style. Much of my success was due to the leadership of our head coach, Denny Green.
Growing in Minnesota
Although at times it appeared I may never land a head coaching job, God was carefully and diligently ordering my steps to that exact goal. He worked through people like Denny Green and Tom Lamphere, the team chaplain, who was also with Athletes in Action, to mold and shape me both professionally and spiritually. Tom’s mission was to help me grow in my faith so that I would be prepared for the greater platform he knew God was giving me.
For over a year, Tom and I met regularly for Bible studies and spiritual mentoring. He taught me that “most of the failings of biblical leaders were spiritual rather than tactical. I needed to be prepared as much spiritually as I was in the Xs and Os.”
From our study times, I learned three important keys: (1) opportunity comes in God’s time, not ours; (2) we need to prepare ourselves to be ready when God’s time arrives; and (3) we must be ready to take on the problems and adversity that will come. When discouragement came, Tom reminded me that God already had my head coaching position lined up. I just needed to trust and wait on His timing.
My Next Season (of Life and Football)
Tony Dungy, Head Coach
God’s timing came in 1996. Through a series of very unlikely events that only God could orchestrate, I was hired as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. “God’s plans don’t always follow human logic. I was finally a head coach, but it had happened in a setting and through a process that had made me believe I had no chance. We often can’t see what God is doing in our lives, but God sees the whole picture and His plan for us clearly.”
I knew I was in for a challenge. Tampa Bay had been one of the least successful franchises in professional sports. I knew I must build an outstanding coaching staff that could effectively instruct and encourage our players. Equally as important, I wanted men of character and integrity on my staff who would work to mold our players into the men~on and off the field~they were supposed to be. Looking back, I can see God’s total involvement in bringing an awesome coaching staff together for my first season at Tampa Bay.
While talent wasn’t an issue with the Buccaneers, my biggest challenge was improving the culture. The players had been down so long, they expected things to go wrong for them. It was my job to reverse their defeatist, beaten-down mentality. One of the first changes I made was to counter the past owner’s frugality and start spending money on the team~ staying in nicer hotels, not keeping track of the towel inventory, etc. These were minor changes that made a huge difference in an overall mental shift.
My first season at Tampa started out rough, as we lost our first five games. I told the players to hang in there. There would come a day, I said, when fans won’t be able to get a ticket to our games. I knew in my heart we were implementing a successful system, and it was just a matter of time before it began paying off. During that discouraging time, I had coaching friends call to tell me to stick with my plan and not to give up. Fortunately, the Buccaneers’ owners said the same thing.
Attitude Is Everything
We continued with my game plan and did see some improvements, although our record didn’t show it. I maintained my composure with the players, never getting angry at them for their on-the-field performance. I did blow up one time, but it had nothing to do with playing football. Two of our players were scheduled for community appearances, and neither showed up. For one of the players, this was the second time he missed his visit to a fourth-grade class. I was furious.
I told the team it was time to start focusing on changing our own attitudes and accountability measures. They didn’t seem to get that the way they were perceived off the field was important. They didn’t want to give something their all if they didn’t see personal gain from it. They needed to understand that everything they did was important.
“You’ll always find excuses for not doing exactly what you’re supposed to do. But that’s exactly what creates a losing environment.”
That week, we beat the Oakland Raiders 25-17. After that, we won five of our remaining seven games, including a game in San Diego, which marked the first time the Buccaneers had won on the West Coast in 10 years. I believe that this game was the turning point for our team. I did all I could to instill a vision of excellence for every game we played. By the end of the season I felt we had started to change our team’s mind-set, and we were finally headed in the right direction.
Sold Out
The 1997 season remains my favorite of all my years in football~ not only on the football field but for our family as well. We had truly found a home in Tampa, and we were beginning to get plugged into our community in a wonderful way. As for football, it was one of those seasons I never wanted to see end. A major highlight was when a fan walked to the box office to buy a ticket on game day only to hear the game was sold out! He said he had bought game-day tickets for years and had never had a problem. But that was the old Bucs. I thought back to just a season before when I told the team that someday our games would sell out. It was hard to believe then, but it had happened.
Equally as unbelievable is that for the first time in 15 years the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had made the playoffs that season. The day the playoff tickets went on sale, I went with a couple guys from our administrative staff to pass out doughnuts to fans waiting in line. I was anticipating a line about the length of that at a movie theater. Instead, we were welcomed by a line of at least 5,000 people. That’s when it hit me: “We’ve done exactly what we hoped to do when we came here~excite the community, win games, and create a team people are proud of.”
Defining Success
As great as it was to be in the playoffs, Lauren and I had learned a long time earlier not to get caught up in such things. Society defines success based on accomplishments, awards, and possessions. In football, the only thing that matters is whether you win or lose. God defines success very differently. To Him, it’s all about a relationship with His Son and the love we have for Him and others. How we use the gifts and talents He’s given us determines how successful we are in His eyes.
God’s success is based on significance. Our significance is measured in the hearts and lives of those we touch. One way I found to be significant while in Tampa was to partner with an organization called Family First. Family First had just started a new program called All Pro Dad. My job was to help promote the program and teach specific principles fathers could apply to become better dads. It was one way I knew I could use the platform God gave me to strengthen the community.
The Beginning of the End
A Bad Decision
After winning the playoffs but not making the Super Bowl, our owners, the Glazers, were ready to make some changes. Their first change was to fire our offensive coordinator, Mike Shula. I didn’t agree with them. I thought Mike was doing a great job, and the problems he had weren’t necessarily his fault. I was torn, because I knew that according to 1 Peter 2:13 and 18, I needed to obey the authority over me. But I was concerned about what would happen to the other coaches if I let Mike go.
As head coach, I had control over the hiring and firing of my staff, but I wasn’t sure that if I kept Mike on I would still have a job. I wasn’t so much concerned about my security as I was about that of the coaching staff. If I were let go, they probably would be too. Knowing what was going on, Mike graciously resigned. I felt I had mishandled the situation and made the wrong decision in allowing him to leave. In fact, it was probably the worst decision I’ve ever made in coaching. That decision weakened our unity as a team staff and headed us into a downward spiral.
Another Close Call
Although we had come close to the Super Bowl in 1999, we began adjusting the basis of our philosophy. As a head coach, I was forced to become less and less hands-on with my players and leave the day-to-day coaching to my assistants. I also had more off-field responsibilities. I didn’t want to shortchange my family and had resolved not to spend all night in the office. Again, I had to trust my staff to do their jobs so that I could go home.
The 2000 season was a good one. But again, we won the playoffs but couldn’t get to the Super Bowl. By the end of the season, rumors circulated that the Glazers were looking for a new head coach. My friend and chaplain from Minnesota, Tom Lamphere, called to ask me about the rumors. I told him that it was in God’s hands. I believed that. I felt that God was using this situation to test me.
“The question was whether I would stay focused on the Lord or start worrying about things I couldn’t control. I knew I needed to … let the Lord handle the future. Had I grown enough in my Christian faith to do this?”
It’s Official
With rumors of a coaching change still in the air, the 2001 season was a long one. Lauren had noticed many changes in how she was being treated by the Glazers, and she was certain our time in Tampa was coming to a close. Another clue was when the Glazers did not fly with the team on the plane to the playoffs. We lost that playoff game, and the following Monday I lost my job.
I was not mad at the Glazers. They were the team’s owners, and they had to do what they thought was best for the team. I also appreciated the opportunity they gave me as their head coach. Still, Tom Lamphere wisely reminded me to not allow bitterness to settle in my heart. God enabled me to sincerely and publicly thank the Glazers for the opportunity they had given me. I believe this act positively influenced many people who expected me to be upset.
So God had closed another door. I wondered if He had something totally different in store for me. I considered that He could be transitioning me out of coaching entirely. All Pro Dad had grown significantly in just four years, and I had an opportunity to regularly speak to many teens and young adults. Additionally, I had become involved in a prison ministry in which coaching had limited my participation. Perhaps this was to become a full-time call for me.
A New Start
The Phone Starts Ringing
When I was starting out in football, I anxiously waited by the phone for calls that never came~calls telling me I had been drafted or that I had been cut from the team. But there was one call that did come. A call convincing me God still wanted me in coaching. It was a call from Jim Irsay, the owner of the Indianapolis Colts. He left a message on my answering machine telling me he wanted to hire me as his new head coach. He wanted me to do more than coach, however. He wanted me to help build his organization to emphasize character, values, and family. Moreover, he told me not to worry about my salary.
Soon after, I received another call, this one from the North Carolina Panthers. Both teams seemed to be a good fit for my coaching philosophy. Like many times before, there was no clear voice from God. But after much prayer and consideration, Lauren and I felt the Colts were the team we were supposed to be with. Jim’s message had touched us, and we believed God was going to continue in Indianapolis the ministry platforms He had already given us.
In 2002, a new era began for me when I joined the Colts. One of the first things I did was meet with the team’s chaplain, who informed me that after 11 years in his position, he had never been inside the head coach’s office. I told him he’d better get used to it. I also made sure everyone knew that their families were always welcome in our facility~that had not always been the case in Indy. I wanted my boys with me at work as much as possible, and I wanted others to be able to be with their families as well.
A Bittersweet Season
My first couple of seasons as head coach of the Colts was wonderful. The players were buying into my team-building philosophies, we had a strong team, and the owners were behind me all the way. As the 2005 season began, I remember studying Acts 15 in our coaches’ Bible study. I wrote these notes: “ ‘Do what you’re supposed to do while waiting.’ I wondered if I could do it.” It seemed like such a long wait to make it to the Super Bowl. But we just kept focusing on our fundamentals and doing what we did best. By Thanksgiving we were 10-0 and having a great time.
I spent Thanksgiving with my family, including my children, who were home from college, and some of my coaches and their families. I thoroughly enjoyed my holiday and realized how critical spending time with God and family is. It’s something that should be planned for and not treated as an afterthought. That realization would hit me even harder the following month.
It was 1:45 a.m. when we received a call that our oldest son, Jamie, had taken his own life.
“It wasn’t until days later, when I was standing over Jamie’s casket … that it really started to sink in. I’m never going to see him again.”
Jamie had accepted Christ as child and had never turned his back on Him. We wanted to celebrate his life at his funeral, knowing he was now home with Jesus. I did my best to use Jamie’s funeral as a opportunity, both to share memories of his life and to speak of the eternal hope we all can have in Jesus. I found out later that a young girl gave her life to Christ as a result of Jamie’s service. After his service, it came time to practice what I had been preaching. I knew our family had to move forward. “Lauren and I knew our only option was to trust God and let Him lead us through the pain…. our job was to persevere and follow the Lord no matter what.”
We finished the season 14-2 then lost in a playoff game against Pittsburgh. It proved to be a very heartbreaking season~both on and off the field.
A Totally Sweet Season
We began the 2006 season 9-0, but it had a totally different feel than the year before. In 2005, we won by large margins. This year we were barely winning. Often it took us until the last drive of the game to win. A couple games later, we got absolutely crushed by the Jaguars~a loss that stunned our entire team. We were still headed to the playoffs, but no one outside our team expected much from us.
Both the Chiefs and the Bears had also made it to the playoffs, accomplishments that gave Lovie the Bears’ coach), Herm (the Chiefs’ coach), and me a chance to catch up at dinner one night before one of our games. It’s a good thing I paid for the meal, because the Colts destroyed the Chiefs the following day!
Our next stop was Baltimore. After beating the Ravens, we were headed to the AFC Championship game. It looked like we’d be playing our nemesis, the Patriots, once again.
Our meeting with the Patriots was nothing short of incredible. We trailed 21-6 at the half. I totally believed we would win, and I convinced my players that we would as well. They fought back in the second half and gave us a very dramatic win of 38-31. We did it. We beat a team that was always unbeatable to us. And, we made it to the Super Bowl!
We ended up playing the Bears in the Super Bowl. Lovie and I made history as the first African American head coaches to ever coach in a Super Bowl. It was an honor to share that title with my friend. As excited as I was to finally be in a Super Bowl, “my focus over the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl was Matthew 16:26, in which Jesus asks, ‘And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?’ … I knew it would be irresponsible for me not to share [my faith] on possibly the biggest platform I would have in my life.”
The Lord graciously offered me that platform when we beat the Bears 29-17 to become the 2007 Super Bowl champions.
Leaving a Legacy
Although God set me on a new path in Indianapolis, it wasn’t long before I realized how much of an impact my time in Tampa had had on others. I got a call one day from a Buccaneers player telling me that once before a game, after their new coach had just finished addressing the players, everyone started leaving. One of our more outspoken players, Warren Sapp, ordered everyone back in the room to pray. “We’ve been doing this for six years,” he said. “Somebody’s got to step up to pray.”
Another time, I ran into a former player who thanked me for the example I had set and for my lectures on responsibility, both on and off the field. After I had been gone from Tampa for five years, I had an opportunity to speak at the Tampa Bay Festival with Luis Palau, a well-known evangelist. Not only was I presented with a key to the city, but I got to witness many, many young people give their lives to Christ.
This is what it is all about for me: I want to build a legacy and to be faithful with what God has given me. As much as I love coaching, it has never been my purpose. I can’t afford to let the pursuit of my life’s goals cause me to lose sight of my purpose.
“I coach football. But the good I can do to glorify God along the way is my real purpose.”
