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Dungy stepping down in Indy

Tue 13th, January 2009

Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy officially announced his retirement at a press conference on Monday.

Dungy spent the past seven years with the Colts, guiding the team to the playoffs each year. His crowning achievement came after the 2006 season when the Colts beat the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI.

The Colts were 12-4 this season and finished second in the AFC South behind the 13-3 Tennessee Titans. However, the club went one-and-done in the postseason for the second straight year following their Super Bowl triumph, losing to the Chargers, 23-17, in the wild card round on January 3 in San Diego.

Like he did last season following a playoff loss to the Chargers, Dungy decided to take some time away before making an announcement on whether he would return to the club. Indianapolis was defeated by the Chargers, 28-24, last postseason and after a week's worth of speculation, Dungy declared he would return for his seventh season with the club, but that was not the case after this season.

"You really don't think about this or prepare something for when you retire," said a tearful Dungy. "I've been blessed. These 31 years in football have been fantastic for me. I would like to thank my Mom and Dad for raising me right, teaching me how to treat people, which was the most important thing I ever learned. I learned a lot from my wife, who has been there through the ups and downs for 27 years now. I got to work for some pretty great coaches and I learned a lot from them. These seven years I've been here have been better than I could ever imagine."

He spent the day saying goodbye to players and personnel before the press conference.

"The word bittersweet is used in describing moments in time," said Colts owner Jim Irsay. "I knew this day would come at some point. It always does in life when time rolls along. Nothing in life stays the same and things change. It's been an incredible journey and as an owner you dream about having the relationship I've had with Tony."

The Colts already had a successor in place, last year tabbing associate head coach Jim Caldwell as Dungy's replacement.

"Jim's going to do a great job," said Dungy.

The Colts won at least 10 games in each season under Dungy, who was 85-27 as Indy's head coach in the regular season and 7-6 in the postseason. Dungy's tenure included five straight AFC South titles from 2003-07.

Despite Dungy's success in Indianapolis, the Colts have failed to win at least one playoff game in four of those seven postseason appearances.

"What an incredible privilege it's been to work with an extraordinary man," said team president Bill Polian. "His teaching ability, his example and most importantly his unshakeable faith and optimism were an example to us all. We will miss him."

Before joining the Colts, Dungy spent six years as the head coach of Tampa Bay. He had a regular-season mark of 54-42 with the Buccaneers, guiding them to four playoff appearances.

Dungy is the only coach in league history since the merger to take a team to the playoffs in 10 consecutive seasons.