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Manning: Atmosphere created by former Indianapolis Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy still around
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As Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning sees it, Tony Dungy hasn't really left the building.
Not his influence, anyway. And for the Colts right now, that's good.
Manning, speaking Sunday at an appearance at the Ridges Golf Course in Jonesborough, Tenn., to help promote Johnson City (Tenn.) Niswonger Children's Hospital, took time to address a few Colts-related situations, including the departure of WR Marvin Harrison and Tony Dungy. Manning made the appearance with former University of Tennessee Head Coach Phil Fulmer and former UT QB Bobby Scott.
The stuff on Dungy caught my eye:
Even though Coach Dungy will not be on the sidelines, the winning atmosphere and environment that he created will still carry through in our building. We'll still feel his presence on the sideline. But change is part of it. Our players are prepared to deal with it. We've been working hard and look forward to having a good season.
Now, this quote obviously doesn't change the Colts' landscape, but in the offseason it's an interesting topic. There's no question Dungy's influence will continue with the Colts, as the influence of any coach does after a departure. I remember Dungy talking often in 2002 and 2003 about the debt the Colts owned former Head Coach Jim Mora, who Dungy said instilled in the team the ability to focus and practice, which Dungy indicated was not as routine in NFL circles as logic might indicate. Under Dungy, that never changed and the Colts under Dungy became one of the NFL's most-consistent franchises, with his motto of "Next Man Up" becoming less a cliche and more a mindset of how the team approaches each week, in season or out.
That's where Dungy's influence will help the Colts this offseason.
Now, make no mistake:
Jim Caldwell, who succeeded Dungy in January, is no Dungy clone, despite the media sometimes having a tendency to portray him as such. He has jokingly said this offseason that one of the differences is he occasionally might raise his voice, something Dungy never did as a head coach, but it's no joke that Caldwell is a bit more hard-edged than Dungy and that players and coaches -- and pretty much anyone around the Colts who deals with him often -- have learned quickly since his ascension that he's very much his own guy.
That said, Caldwell is nothing if not intelligent, more than smart enough to take what works from a man for whom he worked for eight seasons.And for Dungy, what worked was a calm, measured approach that was defined by "Next Man Up," phrase most often heard when a younger player was filling in for a more-experienced one and one that applies now to the Colts' offseason.
Caldwell has replaced Dungy. There is a new coordinator on defense, Larry Coyer, and a new coordinator on special teams, Ray Richleski. For a time, it appeared the offensive coordinator (Tom Moore) and the offensive line coach (Howard Mudd) would be changing, but after the duo retired last month, Colts Owner and Chief Executive Officer Jim Irsay has said multiple times in the last month they will return as consultants in "significant roles." Translation: they'll essentially coordinate and coach.
Still, Caldwell's handling of the offseason has been more "Next Man Up" than "Widepread Panic." A plan was in place should the team not have worked out a deal to have Moore and Mudd return, and that plan -- having wide receivers coach Clyde Christensen ready to assume coordinator duties and assistant line coach Pete Metzelaars ready to assume full-time line duties -- would mean a comparatively seamless transition should either end up not returning, as unlikely as that now seems.
None of this is saying there won't be change. A new head coach is a big change, but when players spoke last week of changes under Caldwell, their focus was on his policy of assigning seats in the team meeting room. This has caused joking complaining with some players, but if assigned seats is the major hiccup in a head-coaching transtion, it's just that -- a hiccup without long-term ramifications.
Caldwell was asked about the approach at the team's minicamp this past weekend:
For the most part I think I'm pretty reserved and I think that carries over. I think one of the things you look at on our teams over the years and our teams have never been volatile. Our teams have been able to hang in there in tough situations and certainly not get on that roller-coaster ride and it's given us an opportunity to win games. And a lot of that had to do with the fact that our organization is pretty calm from top to bottom in terms of handling difficult situations and I don't think that my position is any different than that.
Caldwell isn't Dungy. Nor does he want to be. But taking one of Dungy's most important attributes and having it continue to set the tone means Dungy very much hasn't left the building.
And that's good news for the Colts.
OTHER EXAMINER COLTS TOPICS . . .
- A look back at 2009 Colts minicamp
- Mudd, Moore return inevitable, happy end to long story
- Colts to allow sponsors on practice uniforms
- QB Peyton Manning willing to be patient regarding assistants
- A look at the defense entering 2009 minicamp
- A look at the offense entering 2009 minicamp
- QB Peyton Manning among three Colts players ranked highly in Madden 2010
- Hints Emerging about potential Colts defensive changes
- QB Peyton Manning must let assistant coaching situation play out
- Top Five Real Issues Facing Colts Entering 2009
- Why Frank Winters and Ron Johnson fit the Colts' philosophical approach
- Why Colts QB Peyton Manning is primed for another big season
- OTAs begin for Colts
- Preseason dates and times
- Former Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy essays on Michael Vick
- Uncertainty over timing of Mudd, Moore return
- New Era Gets Really, Really New
- Huge Day of Change May be Drawing Near for Colts
- The Top Five Myths Surrounding the Colts
- The Colts' Top Five Underrated Players
- On Loss of Dom Anile
- Top Five Breakout Players for Colts in 2009
- Loss of Moore, Mudd would be end of an era
- Ex-Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy meets with Michael Vick
- Re-signing DT Ed Johnson makes DT situation even better
- Top Five Nonissues facing Colts in 2009
- Peyton Manning Top 10 underrated moments.
- Breaking Down the 2009 Colts Schedule
- Colts Rookie Minicamp
- Top 10 rookie free agents in the Polian era
- On the re-signing of LB Freddy Keiaho
- Too early to quit on Addai
- A recap of the Colts' 2009 NFL Draft
- Colts had to do what they did with RB Dominic Rhodes
- Signing of S Matt Giordano solidifies position
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