Defending Tony Dungy

Sorry guys, this is my new obsession. I just want to lay that out.
Also, I promise to avoid talking about Peyton Manning. This isn't
about #18. This is about defending one of the hands down best coaches
of our time.

Dungy is getting blasted in the media and I am really taking issue
with it. First of all, Dungy's team is setting records for regular
season proficiency. Why doesn't he get more credit for that? You
know, what Dungy should do is set expectations lower during the
regular season. They constantly have personnel turnover on the
defensive side of the ball. Recently the Colts have battled severe
injuries. Perhaps Dungy should just not play so hard and so well
during the season. No one in their right mind would criticize him if
Indy didn't destroy the league every single season. That would buy
him some good grace in the media.

Let me compare Tony Dungy to the coach every one of his critics
basically feels he is the equivalent to: Marty Schottenheimer.
Martyball always exceeds regular season expectations then flames out
in the playoffs. But a closer look reveals these two men are not the
same. For one, Schottenheimer gets criticized immediately following
playoff losses for stupid coaching decisions or for his players being
sloppy and boneheaded. That hasn't happened with Dungy. Is he a tad
conservative sometimes? Sure but welcome to the club. The playoffs
feature a ton of conservative game management. I can promise you
Dungy's conservative coaching moves are a drop in the Indy bucket of
problems. Furthermore, Schottenheimer's pension for playoff meltdowns
may have to do with the fact that his teams recently have not been all
that veteran and there is a psychological buildup because of his
reputation, for or not. Maybe any coach in Schottenheimer's situation
would struggle given that perfect storm.

Finally, no one says exactly what Dungy has done wrong. Unlike
Schottenheimer and other coaches who supposedly aren't made for the
playoffs, everyone criticizes Dungy for the overall result but not for
anything specific. Apparently, coaching is just magic. His teams
always play very hard and all things considered, play smart too. The
defense, Dungy's specialty, seems to always play above their
experience and talent level in big games. Look at all of the Colts
playoff games the last 6 years or so. The offense game after game
after game does not score as many points as people would have
predicted beforehand, win or lose. So I guess Dungy could be
criticized for not firing his offensive coordinator Tom Moore. But
Moore is well-respected and I have not heard anyone point out why
Moore is at fault. Darn those specifics. Seeing how Dungy is being
treated, I can see why "fall guys" are so common in business and
politics. No one asks any questions when you can focus enough ire
toward one particular scape goat. It's like extreme Bush bashing.
Once you have decided the man is pure evil, you can criticize him for
everything from World War II to AIDS in Africa.

As for the Buccaneers winning the Super Bowl once Dungy left, how many
coaches help their teams improve in their first season? This happens
constantly, to the point that I am now refusing to cast my support for
the Coach of the Year Award behind a first year coach again. So the
fact that an offensive guru brought a new energy to Tampa Bay and
spruced up the side of the ball that wasn't Dungy's expertise for one
year is no surprise. What has the great Gruden done since that first
year? Not much. I'm not saying Gruden isn't a good coach because he
is but it would seem apparent to me that instead of criticizing Dungy
we should realize that what happened in Tampa Bay is what does happen
on several teams every single NFL season.

What do you guys say?
Why does he deserve to get criticized in the media?