Tony Dungy is the Jerome Bettis of HC’s.
People romanticize his career as being something more than it really was.
Dungy is lauded for turning the Tampa Bay franchise around, but in reality he is given far too much credit for that.
Hugh Culverhouse was the owner of the Bucs, a notorious skinflint who placed profits over wins. Thanks to pocketing money from his split of television contracts, he was one of the NFL's most profitable owners - despite his team playing in half empty stadiums.
The turnaround for the Buccaneer franchise began the day Culverhouse died. Prior to Dungy being hired the Bucs drafted Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks and John Lynch. Those draft picks came via GM Rich McKay and HC Sam Wyche. Dungy walked into a situation with one great player on each level of what was one of the greatest defenses in NFL history - a defense that was coached, managed and drawn up much more by DC Monte Kiffin than Dungy.
That defense was so loaded, the team should have gone to multiple Super Bowls. Under Dungy's guidance that never happened. They made it to the NFCCG just once, and Dungy's playoff record in Tampa was 2-4. The Bucs were 11-5 once and 10-6 twice in six years with Dungy. Overall he was 55-42, an average of 9-7. Good but not great in most circumstances; a major underachievement considering the talent he had to work with.
Let's not forget that as soon as he was fired, the Bucs won the Super Bowl the very next year, despite that core starting to age and deal with injuries.
Fast forward to Dungy's next gig, the Colts. He walks into a team with Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne and Edgerrin James on offense, Dwight Freeney, Chad Bratzke and Mike Peterson on defense. A year later Bill Polian adds Dallas Clark and Robert Mathis; the year after Polian selects Bob Sanders.
With all that talent on both sides of the ball Dungy's team finally manages to win one Super Bowl. Dungy goes 3-6 in the playoffs in his other seasons with Indy. The Colts had four one-and-dones and two home playoff losses with Dungy as their head coach.
The Dungy apologists/fans are hypocrites. They want him to have the credit for Tampa Bay's Super Bowl victory, saying 'Gruden won with Dungy's team', but don't apply the same logic for success with the Colts.
As a head coach, Tony Dungy is vastly overrated in my opinion.