Who did Tony Dungy coach in the NFL?
Before Tony Dungy was a sports analyst, he held quite a successful career as a defensive coordinator in the NFL and as a head coach.
Dungy, on top of being a great analyst, was also inducted into the Hall of Fame as a coaching candidate in 2016.
His storied career began in the early 1980s when he began as a defensive backs coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers, eventually leading into a defensive coordinator position that he worked his way up to.
He also served as a defensive backs coach for the Kansas City Chiefs and defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings before settling into his first head coaching job.
Which Tony Dungy head coaching run was more impressive?
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1996-2001
Tony Dungy got his first crack as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1996-2001 years.
During his time with the Bucs, Dungy was able to secure a 54-42 record.
He’s coming home.
#Bucs announce Tony Dungy’s name going up where it belongs: In the Ring of Honor around Raymond James Stadium forever.
📰 | pewterreport.com/bucs-induct-to… https://t.co/58aSflBj9k
Throughout his tenure with the Bucs, Dungy was able to take the Bucs to six playoff appearances and was instrumental in helping turn the franchise around. Dungy helped improve the Bucs through his second season after they posted a 10-6 record.
In 1999, the Bucs went 11-5 and secured their first divisional win since 1981. Unfortunately, after six seasons, Dungy was relieved of his duties.
Indianapolis Colts 2002-2008
A mere eight days after he was let go by the Bucs, the Indianapolis Colts signed Dungy to be their next head coach.
Dungy would go on to post a 10-6 record in his first season with the Colts and have a minimum of 12 wins throughout the rest of his career with the Colts. In 2006, the Colts secured an AFC championship win over the rival New England Patriots. The Colts would then beat the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl and would cement Dungy in the history books as the first African-American head coach to ever win a Super Bowl.
On this day in 2007, the Colts win Super Bowl XLI in Miami. Peyton Manning completed 25 of 38 passes for 247 yards with one touchdown and one interception to win MVP and his first career title. Coach Tony Dungy becomes the first black coach to win the championship. https://t.co/LuOOhkx8zJ
Dungy would coach one of the best quarterbacks that has ever played in the league, Peyton Manning, and go down as one of the best coach-QB duos that has ever existed.
His final record through his two stints as head coach was a collective 148-79-0. Even more impressive was that Dungy held a .668 winning percentage in the regular season along with a record of 139-69-0.
Dungy's run as Colts head coach would go down as his most successful, being that his win percentages were also high and he was able to get a Super Bowl victory during his tenure there.
The Colts inducted Dungy into their ring of honor in 2010. The Bucs followed suit by inducting Dungy into their ring of honor in 2018.
Tony Dungy remains in the top 15 of head coaches with the highest win percentage and has remained one of the NFL's best and most influential head coaches that has ever graced the game of football. He has worked hard and earned each one of his prestigious accolades.