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Dungy era ends

The most successful coach in Bucs history is fired late Monday along with his offensive coaching staff. Next up: Bill Parcells?

[Times photo: James Borchuck] Tony Dungy’s Bucs tenure ends with a six-year record of 54-42 after 13 straight seasons below .500 and four postseason appearances in the past five, one more than in the previous 20 years.

By RICK STROUD, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 15, 2002

• The Dungy Era in Photos • Gary Shelton: At end, Dungy became a victim of his own strengths • What they’re saying about Tony Dungy • Fans react to firing in Bucs forum • The Tony Dungy file • Loyal, tough and above all, a winner • Women’s team starts the bidding

TAMPA -- He gave them playoff teams and sellout crowds, but coach Tony Dungy could not get an audience with Bucs owners before he was fired Monday.

Dungy was informed of his dismissal by general manager Rich McKay, whose future with the team also is in jeopardy.

Dungy's removal clears the way for the hiring of Bill Parcells, who has a tentative agreement on a five-year deal. Parcells is formulating his coaching staff, one that could include defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, and is not expected to officially take the position until next week.

The Bucs also fired all offensive assistants, but Dungy's defensive staff will remain under contract until it has a chance to interview with the new coach.

Parcells would have control of the team's football operations, but McKay could assume another position within the front office.

The team has scheduled a 10:30 a.m. news conference with Dungy, 46, today. Dungy and some assistants cleaned out their offices Monday.

Players reacted angrily Monday night over the silent treatment by Bucs owners of Dungy, the winningest coach in franchise history who took his team to the playoffs four times in the past five seasons.

"Everybody's feelings toward him are always positive. So for him to get treated negatively is in a bad light," cornerback Ronde Barber said. "I can't say I'm surprised because of all the rumors, but it's sad. ... I'm at a loss for words."

Until Monday, the Glazers never broke their silence. They seemed ready to make a run at Parcells during the Super Bowl in Tampa last season before deciding to give Dungy another chance. But they fueled speculation about Dungy's future by rebuffing his attempts to negotiate an extension at the start of the season, saying they preferred to see how the team performed.

The Times reported Friday that Dungy would be fired and replaced by Parcells unless he advanced the Bucs to at least the NFC Championship Game. Despite playing for their coach's job, the Bucs lost 31-9 to the Philadelphia Eagles in Saturday's NFC wild-card game.

The Glazers still owe Dungy the final year's salary of a five-year, $6.5-million contract signed in 1998.

Dungy won't be unemployed for long. He expects to interview with the Indianapolis Colts' and Carolina Panthers' coaching jobs this week and could be a candidate to coach the San Diego Chargers.

The announcement of Dungy's firing came in a late-night statement that was released by the team just hours after saying the coach would learn his fate in a meeting with vice presidents Joel and Bryan Glazer this morning.

"It's been a privilege to work with not only Tony Dungy the coach, but Tony Dungy the man," owner Malcolm Glazer said in a prepared statement. "This has been a most difficult decision. Tony has done great things for our football team and our community. I know I speak for the whole Tampa Bay community and all Buccaneer fans in wishing Tony and his family the best."

Dungy was surprised when informed Monday night that the team was releasing a statement about his dismissal.

"If that's the way they want to handle it, I'll wait and comment at the press conference," he said.

In a meeting Sunday, McKay tried to persuade owners to retain Dungy, who had a 54-42 record and took his team to the NFC Championship Game two years ago.

After learning of the Glazers' decision to fire him from McKay, Dungy met with his coaching staff and some players who stopped by One Buc Place.

"I think it's a disappointment," safety John Lynch said. "You look upon it in terms of what he meant to our organization and to me, and that's a great deal. As a coach he's brought a tremendous amount of respect to the franchise. More importantly it's the contribution he made to a number of players by making them better men. There are few people I admire more than Coach Dungy."

In '96, Dungy took over a team that had not had a winning season in 13 years. His six teams produced 35 Pro Bowl players, six this season.

Dungy has averaged 10 wins over the past three seasons. During that time, Tampa Bay's 30 wins are second-most in the NFC. His team hasn't had a losing record since his first season in '96, when it went 6-10.

But under Dungy, the Bucs were inconsistent and unbalanced. The Bucs defense annually has ranked among the NFL's elite, but the offense has never ranked higher than 21st.

As a result, Dungy has used three offensive coordinators and three starting quarterbacks in the past three seasons, all with disappointing results.

The Bucs went an NFL-record 12 consecutive quarters without a touchdown in the playoffs. Tampa Bay also averaged two field goals and was outscored 63-18 in the past three playoff games.

The Glazers repeatedly refused to comment on Dungy's status, saying they would not comment on "rumors and speculation."

"Where there's smoke, there's always fire," receiver Keyshawn Johnson said. "It's not something that came overnight. It was too long for maybe a period of two months that this was going on, all the way back to last January. It was very difficult for me to play under those conditions, that possibility the coach that brought you in and paid you had a chance to be gone. I went out and laid it on the line for him.

"It's disappointing in the manner that he was fired. If you were going to let him go, if I was an owner, I'd have done it after the game (Saturday). I think it was very disrespectful in the manner owners dealt with the situation. And I feel bad for Tony and his family. I wish him good luck."

"He should be remembered for how he pulled this franchise from the ashes," Barber said. "He made it into something, and made a bunch of players into special players. Short-sighted people will look at his record in the playoffs. But there are lots of coaches who wished they could be in the playoffs."

-- Staff writer Roger Mills contributed to this report.

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