Shama: Ease Up on the Tony Dungy Love Fest

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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Ease Up on the Tony Dungy Love Fest

I’ve been scratching my head for awhile now thinking about the Tony Dungy link to the University of Minnesota football coaching position. Dungy has been granted special status as an authority about the job opening by University officials and media.

It’s almost like this: “If Tony can’t be our coach, he can at least tell us who to hire.”

Baloney. Dungy hasn’t coached college football since he was an assistant at Minnesota about 30 years ago. He achieved a highly successful career in pro football where he became the first African-American head coach to win the Super Bowl. He’s been out of coaching since 2008 and now is seen weekly on NBC’s Sunday night football telecasts.

The college and pro coaching cultures are different in their demands. Dungy is an expert on the NFL, not the NCAA. His knowledge and contacts with other coaches run deepest in the NFL. Don’t make the man into something he’s not.

Ask Dungy’s opinion on coaching candidates for Minnesota and he’s likely to offer up guys coaching in the pro game, or with strong ties to it. That doesn’t fit the profile Minnesota should be pursuing. The Gophers need an established college football coach who has been a proven winner elsewhere.

Dungy is a very nice man with admirable character but let’s not go overboard on his commitment to Gophers football. Yes, he once played quarterback here and later coached for Joe Salem but if moving Gophers football out of the dumpster is a priority for Dungy it sure seems like he should accept the job that’s been offered to him at least twice in the last four years.

Dungy doesn’t have the interest and will to take on this job and he doesn’t even have a lot of personal equity in who is hired as coach. Dungy is not employed by the University. He is not a member of the Board of Regents. He doesn’t live in Minnesota, nor has he any plans to do so. I am not aware that he’s even a season ticket holder, and if so he doesn’t attend the games.

University leaders, passionate season ticket holders and other fans have much more invested in Gophers football than the far removed Dungy who both lives and works thousands of miles from Minneapolis. Those who truly love Gophers football and have loyally (blindly?) supported it through the years are the real stake holders.

The University doesn’t need a nod up or down on final candidates from Dungy.

http://www.shamasportsheadliners.com/

Go Gophers!!
 


I agree. Don't get the whole (What Would Dungy Do?) thing at all.
 


Agree with Shama 100% (okay 99.5%). Dungy is a great guy and all, but all the adulation piled upon him reminds me of the M-Club revolts in the 1970s that got Murray Warmath and Cal Stoll fired (the M-Club even devours their own).

Let's allow the administration to go through the process getting as many data points (including Dungy's) as they can and then make a choice.
 


If we are all fans of Shama, we should just post the link to the article so he can get some traffic.
 

I don't disagree with Shama, but I wonder if the premise is accurate. He says, "It’s almost like this: 'If Tony can’t be our coach, he can at least tell us who to hire.'"

Is that how this is working? I'm not convinced of that. I'm sure Dungy is helping identify candidates, most of whom will be NFL coaches because that's who he knows. That doesn't mean we hire them. I sure hope Maturi and Bruinicks have laid out their criteria for what they're looking for in a new coach, and whoever is helping with the search -- Dungy or otherwise -- will have to stay within them.

I'm hoping that Dungy can help recruit the coaches we target and, more importantly, be part of the interview process (to the extent that there is one) to help Maturi figure out if the coach knows his football. Based on the kind of coach Maturi said he's looking for, that won't be too important. But I believe it would've served as a pretty nice guard rail four years ago to help keep the program from careening over the cliff.
 

Hates Monikers said:
I don't disagree with Shama, but I wonder if the premise is accurate. He says, "It’s almost like this: 'If Tony can’t be our coach, he can at least tell us who to hire.'"

Is that how this is working? I'm not convinced of that. I'm sure Dungy is helping identify candidates, most of whom will be NFL coaches because that's who he knows. That doesn't mean we hire them. I sure hope Maturi and Bruinicks have laid out their criteria for what they're looking for in a new coach, and whoever is helping with the search -- Dungy or otherwise -- will have to stay within them.

I'm hoping that Dungy can help recruit the coaches we target and, more importantly, be part of the interview process (to the extent that there is one) to help Maturi figure out if the coach knows his football. Based on the kind of coach Maturi said he's looking for, that won't be too important. But I believe it would've served as a pretty nice guard rail four years ago to help keep the program from careening over the cliff.
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I agree that receiving the "Dungy Good Housekeeping Seal" would be a plus in selling the new coach to the casual fan. In addition, he does know football and can probably help avoid another case of the "Brewster Flu" for the program.
 

Dungy is a great guy, and was a great coach. However, is he ever at a game? Does he contribute to the program at all financially? Does he help promote the program and university? I haven't seen it.
 



I agree with Shama 100%, and I have also been surprised by the 'love affair'. The main point being that he is a NFL guy not a CFB guy.
 

Shama is correct on that one. I am not even convinced Dungy would be a great college football coach. He is a great Xs and Os guy, but the college game is a completely different beast. How would Tony have done trying to get kids to stay eligible and things like that? If Dungy doesn't want a job at the U, Dungy shouldn't have a say in who gets the job at the U.
 


littlebigboy said:
It is just like the affair withSumlin, not a great choice!
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Well the difference between people talking about Sumlin is that people say Sumlin could be pretty good. People say they would think it would be a good hire.

People think that if Dungy had anything to do with anything he would be the next coming of the Messiah.
 




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