Super Bowl paths may go through Dungy twice

Sometimes you have to read between the lines to see greatness.

Take the case of Tony Dungy, the inspirational head coach of both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1996-2001) and the Indianapolis Colts (2002-2008). Hired by both Tampa Bay and Indianapolis on the same day and month, Jan 22, six years apart, Dungy was fired by the Bucs at the end of the 2001 season and retired from coaching after the 2008 campaign at Indy. Though his success with Indianapolis is well documented, including his Super Bowl XLI victory over Chicago to complete the 2006 season, the record does not show an amazing fact about the Dungy coaching regime: Tampa Bay won the Super Bowl the year following Dungy’s departure; now possibly the Colts will duplicate that feat in next Sunday’s Super Bowl XLIV. On the surface it looks like the coaching change was what put the Bucs over the top in 2002 and the Colts in 2009 (should they beat New Orleans), where longtime assistant head coach Jim Caldwell stepped up and in for Dungy. To many onlookers, it is Dungy who should have those Super Bowl stripes on his sleeve. There’s no arguing that both the 2002 Bucs and 2009 Colts teams were Dungy developed. When Jon Gruden walked into the situation at Tampa Bay, all the pins had already been knocked down by Dungy, except one. But it’s Gruden who gets the Lombardi Trophy and the credit. Caldwell likewise will ascend, should he win Sunday.

Tony Dungy has a coaching dossier rivaled by few, but a Colts victory Sunday would demand that two Super Bowl triumphs currently accredited to other coaches also be added in major part to the good name of Dungy.

Sunday’s New Orleans-Indianapolis game is the most anticipated Super Bowl matchup in 16 years. Not since Super Bowl XXVIII, when Buffalo squared off against Dallas to conclude the 1993 season, have the No. 1 seeds from the AFC and NFC conferences met in a Super Bowl. Back then, the Bills and Cowboys met for the second consecutive year in the big show, with Buffalo ultimately succumbing 30‒13, their record fourth straight Super Bowl loss.

ANGLING FOR THE CORNER: I knew the Pro Bowl had slipped from what it once was, when the TV cameras isolated New York Jets defensive end Shaun Ellis totally shutting down on a pass-rush attempt on the play that NFC starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers arched a perfect 48-yard touchdown aerial to Steve Smith in Sunday night’s full-moon Pro Bowl in Miami. It was indeed a far cry from the days of 1953, when Cleveland Browns immortal quarterback Otto Graham got word during practice week of the Pro Bowl, then played in Los Angeles, that his infant son had died accidentally. Grief-stricken, Graham flew back to Cleveland to face the burial of his baby. Then, at the strong urging of his family and motivated by a fierce commitment to his fellow NFL brethren back in L.A., Graham, incredibly, flew back to Los Angeles to play in that Sunday’s Pro Bowl. Why, you would ask? Well, back then the Pro Bowl had no guarantees. Whatever purse there was to split, usually $500 was the difference between winning and losing, maybe a thousand. In 1953, that was serious money. But much more than that, the players’ percentage of the take was dependent on the crowd turnout, whereas today’s Pro Bowl winner’s share is a guaranteed $45,000. With no such guarantee, Graham knew that his fellow Pro Bowlers were counting on his star name recognition to help draw a crowd that would help bring in a paycheck for everyone.

Now that’s an all-star.

Alan Ross is the author of 32 books, including Away from the Ball: The NFL’s Off-the-Field Heroes. E-mail him at: alanross_sports@yahoo.com© Sportland 2010