At halftime of Monday Night Football’s matchup between Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay, Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy was inducted into the Buccaneers Ring of Honor.
Tampa was Dungy’s first head-coaching job in the NFL, and during his time there, he led the Bucs to four playoff appearances, including a trip to the NFC Championship Game in 1999. He had a record of 54-42.
“I thank God for allowing me the opportunity to coach the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and make Tampa Bay our home,” Dungy said. “My entire thought process in coaching was to show people you could have Christian values and still be successful. And thanks to these young men you see behind me, we were able to do that.”
Dungy, 62, has always been an outspoken proponent for integrating faith into everything he does, including his time as a head coach in the NFL. After winning Super Bowl XLI with Indianapolis in January 2007, he stood at the podium accepting the Vince Lombardi Trophy and praised God for his victory.
“I’m proud to be representing African-American coaches and be the first African-American to win this,” he said. “But again, more than anything, I said it before, Lovie Smith and I are not only African-American coaches, but Christian coaches, showing you can win, doing it the Lord’s way. We’re more proud of that.”
Dungy retired following the 2008 season. Eight years later, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
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