Whenever Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy thinks about Charlie Strong, he identifies with the leader of this Longhorn football team.
Sure, there is no denying race when it comes to their similarities. Dungy is the first black head coach to win a Super Bowl. Strong wants to become the first black coach to win a national title in college football. In addition, Dungy was overlooked by NFL owners for years because he was viewed as too soften spoken, a bad interviewer, and many believed race was an issue. Dungy finally received a chance to prove he could be an NFL head coach when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hired him in 1996. Meanwhile, Strong was disregarded by college programs for similar reasons before Louisville hired him in 2009.
However, Dungy believes he has an important similarity with Strong.
Before Dungy was known as one of the greatest coaches in NFL history, he struggled to win. He started very slow before building a successful franchise in Tampa. Even after Dungy began winning in Tampa, he was fired because the owners wanted more victories. That is why when Dungy looks at Strong, he sees a coach who he still believes is going to be successful at Texas, despite six wins in year one, followed by five wins last season.
“I have loved coach Strong from the time I got to know him at the University of Florida,” Dungy told me during an interview this past week.
I called Dungy, a person who I have known for at least 20 years, for his take on recently hired receivers coach Charlie Williams, who served on his staff from 1996 to 2001. As we talked about Williams, his respect for Strong was evident when our conversation shifted to Texas' head coach.
“I think he wants to win, and wants to win the national championship,” said Dungy, who spoke to Strong’s team in Austin last year. “More than that, he wants to develop those young men and have them ready for life. To me, that is what you want to do. That’s what you want. You don’t want just wins. You don’t want just developing guys for life and not winning. You want both, and that’s his goal. The way he’s trying to do it, he’s not going to compromise on any of that, which is why I love what he’s doing. I think he’s going to create a culture there that is outstanding.”
Dungy might be an expert in culture change.
Tampa Bay was a laughingstock before Dungy received the job. The Bucs had 13 consecutive losing seasons before Dungy’s arrival, and 12 of those loss totals were in double digits. In fact, Tampa Bay contacted Steve Spurrier and Jimmy Johnson before eventually hiring Dungy.
After he was hired, Dungy had to bring in young players who believed in his message and were committed to change. He inherited Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks and turned them into Hall of Fame players. Dungy eventually built a winning team by acquiring players with high character, and men who wanted to succeed on the field - and in life.
Does this approach sound familiar to any Longhorn fan?
Let us go back to Dungy’s rough beginning in Tampa.
During Dungy’s first season in Tampa Bay, his team started 1-8. I clearly remember Bucs fans believing the hiring of Dungy was a huge mistake. Many wanted him gone after that start. Sure, it is easy to look back and say how great Dungy is, but nobody can honestly say hr or she believed it was going to occur after that slow start.
From what I was told by more than one member of that 1996 team, Dungy’s message was always consistent. He told each player they were not going to win games until everybody brought in. However, each player told me Dungy never panicked. He never wavered. His message to the team never changed, and eventually they decided to believe in him.
“The results will come,” Dungy said. “I look at things. I played for Chuck Noll. His first year, he was 1-13. Then the next year, they were 5-9. The results came slowly, but when they came, and the foundation got laid, then there were a string of Super Bowls. Then I got traded to the 49ers, and it was the same thing. I played for Bill Walsh, and his first year we were 2-14. The next year they won six and lost 10. Again, it took a little while for that foundation to be laid. Once it was there, there were a string of Super Bowls.
“Now, we are such an instant culture, we don’t want to go through the process of laying the foundation. You have a couple of years like that nowadays, and they say it’s not working, it’s time for a change, let’s do something else. Coaches who are committed to what they believe in, and stick with it … if we reward those coaches with a little patience, that foundation will get laid.”
After Dungy laid the foundation in Tampa Bay, the Bucs were a playoff team in his second year. Tampa Bay had four playoff appearances during Dungy’s six-year tenure. After taking over in Indianapolis, Dungy led his team to the playoffs in each of his seven seasons, including a Super Bowl victory during the 2006 season. He finished with 148 wins and 79 losses during his career, and is viewed as a modern-day coaching pioneer.
“We won one game in three months (during his first season in Tampa),” Dungy said. “You think you’re going to do well, but we were 1-8. Everybody was saying what’s going on, what’s happening, how are they not winning? We just had to remind everybody that we are going to stick to it. The second year, it started to come around, but you have to the lay the foundation.”
Dungy believes Strong will win in Texas because of the foundation his friend has laid.
If Strong can turn around Texas this season, the two coaches will have something else in common.
Funniest Thing You Will See This Week
When Memaw hits 110-years-old, she is entitled to have a Marshawn Lynch moment with the media. Hell, she can do whatever she wants at that age.
Sports On A Dime
1. Former Texas athletic director Steve Patterson has a reputation for making bad decisions – and a lot of enemies – but the guy deserves credit for hiring men’s basketball coach Shaka Smart. Patterson’s hiring of Smart might be the best basketball decision of his career, and I am including the NBA years. I cannot wait to see how Texas performs in the NCAA tournament when it does not have to face the heavy hitters in the Big 12.
2. For Texas fans who missed it, props to Dustin for his tweet of the week:
3. San Francisco said it planned to keep Colin Kaepernick, but Cleveland and Houston are reportedly interested in trading for the former Super Bowl quarterback. Basically, Robert Griffin and Kaepernick may find new homes this offseason. Houston must decide which quarterback it should pursue, or if acquiring a passer through the draft is the best option. Considering some of Griffin’s teammates in Washington turned against him, I think Kaepernick would be a better fit in Houston.
4. I know Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo said he is “leaning” toward getting a plate inserted to reinforce his collarbone based on his CT scan results, but this surgery needs to happen. Dallas cannot afford Romo to miss any time in the upcoming season.
5. Denver Post columnist Woody Paige said Peyton Manning will acknowledge his decision to retire at the end of this week. This is a no-brainer. Manning’s Hall of Fame career concluded with a second Super Bowl title earlier in February. So far, it looks like Charles Woodson and Manning will be first ballot Hall of Famers in five years.
6. The Jacksonville Jaguars, Oakland Raiders, Chicago Bears, New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers each will enter free agency on March 9 with more than $50 million in cap room. Typically, teams that spend the most in free agency drafted poorly, and despite making headlines with huge contracts, those major acquisitions do not always lead to success (just ask the Miami Dolphins about that Ndamukong Suh contract). Good teams spend money re-signing their own players.
7. That might explain why the Tampa Bay Buccaneers remain below average. Bucs running back Doug Martin gained 1,402 yards in a contract year, but they are willing to allow their former first-round pick walk? I know running backs are treated like dirt in the NFL, but this appears to be a dumb front office in Tampa.
8. Nobody will ever convince me Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones made the right decision by not entering the NFL Draft after guiding his team to a national championship. He was benched during the middle of last season due to his lackluster performances, plus sustained a hamstring injury during the combine, which did not allow him to throw this weekend. If Jones does not heal in two weeks, he will not be able to throw at Ohio State’s pro day, and he is beginning to look like a day three pick.
9. Terence Crawford successfully defended his junior welterweight belt against Hank Lundy, who talked a very good game, but was unable to back it up. Bob Arum, Crawford’s promoter, said his fighter’s next bout might be against Ruslan Provodnikov, which would be another easy pay day. I would rather see Crawford beat down Adrien Bronner.
10. I get the feeling this card might make up for the horrific Kimbo Slice fight many of us recently watched:
