Okay, so here goes trying to remember exactly what I said to Amy when I got home with dinner from Yats and she told me that Tony Dungy had decided to hang it up as head coach of the Colts. I already knew that he had made his decision because, unlike when I worked for another major competitor, we can actually check the news and stuff on the Interwebs at the theatre.
So, she tells me that Dungy decided to retire and I said something to the effect of, “Yeah, I know.” Amy said she thought I would be more excited. I don’t imagine it’s a secret that I’m not a big believer in the whole Tony Dungy mythos, and that I’ve been hoping for years now that he would beat a hasty retreat to Tampa after another abysmal showing by the Colts in the playoffs. The exception to that statement was after the 2006 season, when the Colts won the World Championship Of All Football. I still wanted him to go, but obviously the Colts were not exactly abysmal in that season’s playoffs.
I should be excited, then, about his decision to hang it up, right? Yes...and no. See, I’m glad that Dungy’s gone...but I can’t exactly get fired about the heir apparent, Jim Caldwell, who some describe as Tony Dungy Lite. That doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence. We’ve had enough of “lite” coaching, on the Colts sidelines, I think. You know what I want? Bill Cowher roaming the sidelines in blue and white, foaming at the mouth and screaming so loud that he doesn’t need to miked up for one of those neat-o Ahmad Rashad shows. I want Jon Gruden storming up and down the sidelines with his face beet red and looking like he’s about to have a coronary. In short, I want someone who looks, on any given Sunday, as though he might drop dead right there on the sidelines. Hell, bring back Woody Hayes so he can punch Ryan Diem for every false start, and Kelvin Hayden for every missed tackle (and anything else he ever does that makes him look like the second coming of Ray Buchanan).
I’ll give Jim Caldwell the benefit of the doubt - for now. I might even start a Jim Caldwell fan club if he can do but one thing for the Colts - teach them how to blitz. One of the best things about the Colts defense is that it contains Bob Sanders, who is healthy at least four games a year and who can hit so hard that, if we went back in time and dropped him out of the Enola Gay on Hiroshima, the resulting impact would have sunk Honshu and maybe even dragged parts of South Korea into the Sea of Japan.
Let’s see...no threat of the blitz (safety or otherwise), crappy linebackers (a corps that resembles a revolving door that somehow manages to eject the best player almost every offseason), and no double-wide defensive tackle to plug the line (and theoretically give the Colts the ability to use the 3-4, which would really be a case of a paradigm shifting without a clutch). Other teams must love the week leading up to playing the Colts - probably everybody on the team gets a couple of extra days off. The only guys who have to practice are the offensive linemen and the tailbacks. Run the ball, flush Manning, and you win. Period, end of report, next case.
And yet...it’s not just Tony Dungy’s conservative coaching style that has kept the Colts from amassing more Lombardi trophies. Bill Polian, who will be renamed Al Davis when the real Al Davis shuffles off this mortal coil, is as much a part of the problem as Dungy. Dungy coaches teams to almost greatness, and Bill Polian builds teams to almost greatness. He built the Buffalo Bills team that went to four straight Super Bowls and lost every...single...one of them. Then he built the Panthers from scratch and the Colts from the Manning up - and yet if you were to make a short list of Super Bowl matchups that will never, ever happen, this one would be near the top of the list:
Indianapolis vs. Carolina.
These two teams appear to have a pathological desire to avoid being world champions. Building a team with an offense that is designed to play with a lead has clearly not worked. The Colts lucked themselves to one Super Bowl win against a sub-par NFC champion. That’s not a vindication of team-building skills; it’s a happy accident. (Yes, I know, the Bears had great numbers that year. Fine, okay. They also played the easiest schedule in the league and both their division and their conference were pretty bad that year. Click here for the final regular season standings from 2006.)
(And click here to see a little NBC Sports feature about the worst Super Bowl teams of all time - and vote for which team you think was the worst! For the record, I voted for the 1985 Patriots, not the 2006 Bears. But the 2006 Bears did place third in the polling.)
I think there’s more wrong with this team at a systemic level than a head coaching change can fix, especially if Jim Caldwell’s coaching style is enough like Tony Dungy’s to warrant the Dungy Lite moniker. That’s worrisome. The Manning era is on the back nine - maybe not the back nine on Sunday, but certainly the back nine on Saturday. Here’s hoping that Jim Caldwell brings a much needed sense of urgency to his new role as head coach, that he shakes the Dungy Lite thing - and that Bill Polian has the good sense to draft a great big 400-pound DT from the SEC.
2 comments:
OK, I'm not sure where I want to start. I'll leave the Bears thing alone this time because we're never going to budge the other one on that front.
I will say that I agree with you somewhat. I too, have always thought Tony Dungy was far to conservative, and refused to understand that the vast majority of his teams talent (and payroll) was on the offensive side of the ball. And that it might be a decent idea to let the greatest QB of our generation (yes, I said it, deal with it fans of #12) go for it on 4th and 1, on the NE 48, with 10 minutes left down by 6. I also think, as I've said to many before, that the Colts almost started with a 6 point deficit because of his style. However, I do really, really like Dungy, and I think that people sometimes under-appreciate what he has done.
This is a man that built the current Bucs, from NOTHING. Yes, I know that Gruden won the SB that Tony couldn't, and that's fine. He also, in one year, completely re-built a Colts team that had done little with all of its talent in the years previous. Is he overly conservative? Yes. Is he as good as Belichick, or Parcells, or Cowher (who BTW, also only has 1 ring, beat a far worse NFC champ to do it, and needed a lot more luck to get there)? Probably not. But is that the only measure of greatness?
Was Roy Williams only an OK NCAA basketball coach while he was winning 28+ games and going to sweet 16's every year with Kansas before finally winning it all with UNC?
Was Bobby Cox little more than average while he was winning 14 consecutive NL West/East (God love re-alignment) crowns, but only 1 title?
Are the Belichicks, Phil Jackson's, and Joe Torrer's of the world the only great coaches/managers ever?
I would argue that the greatest baseball manager of our lifetime is Jim Leyland and how many titles has he won? 0. Not 1. In fact, he only went to 1 series, and they lost to a vastly out-manned St. Louis Cardinals team.
My point is this, there are great coaches that were great, but lacked that certain something, be it guts, luck, etc., to make them one of the best ever. I believe Dungy is one of those. I mean, honeslty, what would you rather have: The Colts/Bucs and make the playoffs every year, even if you lose the majority of them, or the Ravens who, for the most part, spend their January's at home, but had that one glorious year. I'd rather be consistantly relevant, and Dungy makes us that.
BTW, you can't really be finding fault with Bill Polian. The guy has the greatest track record of any GM, in any sport, period. Name me another GM who has built 3 consistent winners from nothing. You can't because there are none. Also he passed on Ryan Leaf, Eddie Kennison, and Ricky Williams (all of whom everyone, including us at one point or another thought were the better choices) for Peyton, Marivn, and Edge. He also drafted Dwight Freeney #11 and all the ESPN guys laughed at him. All Freeney's done is be one of the 3 most consistent pass rushing forces in the NFL. Oh, and for allyou Bob Sanders fans, I guarantee you no other GM saw him as a top 20 pick at his size, but Polian did. Again, should he have won more titles? Yeah, probably, but the Bills really were the better team only once in those Super Bowls. The Packers were far better than that Panther team that went to the NFC Title game, and we've had to deal with some great Patriot teams (I choose to ignore the Chargers). Again, you can't be blinded by the fact that he's only got the one ring. He has to have one of the most ridiculous winning %'s of all time. Would you rather go back to the Jack Trudeau days?
Would I rather have Cowher than Caldwell? Of coarse. I'd rather him than any coach in the league, but you know what? Bill Cowher aint, and never was, gonna walk through that door (God I love Rick Pitino).
I would suggest this though, we might be better for it too. I'm not sure that a guy like any of the 3 Bill's (BTW, maybe it's the name thing? Hmmm) would win with Peyton. They are too controlling. I don't think they would be able to give him the freedom he needs to succeed. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think I am.
That's another thing that made Dungy great. He was smart enough, and confident enough in his abilities to let the Peyton Mannings, and Warren Sapps of the world run his teams, because thats what those team really needed. Sometimes sitting back is what is needed. I think that is part of why there isn't a player that has ever played for him that wouldn't, to quote Warren Sapp "take a bullet for him, if I knew it wouldn't kill me".
But hey, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.
Will be finding out about the hotel room situation in a week or two (Mel and I are going up to do the final tastings, etc.) and I will let you know. Hope Amy, and mini-Me are doing well and I'll hit you in the next few days.
Yes, I know.
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