Book delves into Bucs

New author Tony Dungy talks about his final days with Tampa Bay.

By RICK STROUD
Published July 10, 2007

	"If we had stayed in Tampa, would the Bucs have gotten to the Super Bowl? Yes, I believe so, if we had stayed the course. But that's just speculation. Under Jon, the Bucs got the job done."
[AP photo, 2002]

TAMPA - Tony Dungy's book begins with an ending: the final chapter of his coaching career in Tampa Bay.

Fired after a 30-second meeting with the Glazer sons, Dungy packed boxes and memories of six seasons from his office, as he watched a light rain turn to a downpour.

"I wandered out of my office and through the building, stopping in the coaches locker room," Dungy writes in his book, Quiet Strength: the Principles, Practices & Priorities of a Winning Life. "Standing in the middle of room, I let my gaze sweep over the cramped, worn, 12 by 15 room. I looked from locker from locker, reading some names, imagining others.

"Oscar, the guard on duty, escorted me through the locked gate on the side of the building. My security code no longer worked."

Dungy's book, which becomes available today, details his lessons of faith, family and football, from his days growing up in Jackson, Mich., to coping with the suicide of his son, Jamie, and making history by becoming the first African-American coach to win a Super Bowl.

For Tampa Bay fans, it also provides a riveting account of the behind-the-scenes developments that eventually led to Dungy's firing after a 31-9 wildcard loss to the Eagles in 2001.

"The first chapter of the book starts with me leaving Tampa and what my thoughts were at the time and how my faith is tested in those type of things," Dungy said Monday by telephone from Los Angeles.

"I did believe maybe the Lord's plan for me was staying there in Tampa. It's something we considered because it was such a big part of our lives that we thought maybe we should do something outside of football."

Dungy admits he was somewhat blindsided by his firing, particularly because he had been assured by vice president Joel Glazer in the final preseason at Atlanta that his job was safe.

But when the Times reported Dungy would be fired if he didn't beat the Eagles in a playoff game, he planned to confront Joel Glazer on the team plane to Philadelphia.

"That Friday morning, Rick Stroud of the St. Petersburg Times wrote an article quoting unnamed sources that I would be fired if I didn't win the playoff game against the Eagles," Dungy wrote. "I really didn't worry about it, but I didn't want the players to get distracted. So I brought the paper on the flight so I could talk to the Glazers. I knew I could ask Joel, given our conversation in Atlanta, and his assurance then that I was their coach.

"Throughout the course of my six-year tenure with the Buccaneers, the Glazers always flew with the team to away games.

"...None of the Glazers were on the flight with us that day. As Lauren said, I'm very naive, but that was the first time I felt that something was going on. How could the owners not fly with us to playoff game?"

About a week after his firing, Dungy was hired by the Indianapolis Colts. The next season, in what he described as "bittersweet", he watched Jon Gruden lead the team to a victory in Super Bowl XXXVII.

The Colts appeared to be on the verge of a title themselves after starting 13-0 in 2005. But on Dec. 22, at 1:45 in the morning, Dungy received the worst phone call of his life.

"As a head coach, I occasionally receive middle-of-the night phone calls, usually about some trouble one of our players has gotten into. At 1:45 in the morning, Thursday, Dec. 22, the phone rang and Lauren handed it to me. (I hope one of our guys isn't hurt as I reached for the receiver). This time the call was not about a player. It was about our son. For reasons that will never be fully understood, James had taken his own life."

More than 1,000 people stood in line to at a wake for Jamie to offer their sympathies to the Dungy family.

"The City of Tampa, our home, stood up for us once again - this time with a different kind of ovation," Dungy wrote.

EXCERPTS FROM THE BOOK

On watching the Bucs win the Super Bowl:

If we had stayed in Tampa, would the Bucs have gotten to the Super Bowl? Yes, I believe so, if we had stayed the course. But that's just speculation. Under Jon, the Bucs got the job done. (Those three weeks, were the toughest part of the transition process for Lauren and me. But through it all, we never doubted God was using this experience to mold and teach us.)

On his last night at One Buc after being fired:

I wandered out of my office and through the building. Stopping in the coaches lockerroom, standing in the middle of room, I let my gaze sweep over the cramped, worn, 12 by 15 room. I looked from locker from locker, reading some names, imagining others. ... Oscar, the guard on duty, escorted me through the locked gate on the side of the building. My security code no longer worked.

On what Joel Glazer told him in the preseason:

"Tony, I know you're hearing rumors that if we don't win it all, we're going to make a change. I want you to know you don't have to win the Super Bowl this year. We don't want to extend your contract now with two years left, but you're our coach." That was all I needed to hear to give me his word. Lauren wasn't convinced however. Something was different and she could feel it. She always claims that I go through life with rose colored glasses while she is more perceptive. She is right on both counts.

[Last modified July 10, 2007, 06:54:58]