The first thing I want to say is this: this article has not been written to speak of all the good qualities of Tony Dungy. You can find a million other articles, books, interviews, and journalists in the world of sports and entertainment who will do that for you ten times over—go read them today.
That said, if you choose to read any further after the statement above, you do so at your own risk because you probably won't like what I have to say about Dungy in the next few paragraphs—understood?
Here we go....
Everyone loves to praise Tony Dungy for his great work in life as a man, a coach, and a mentor for the misguided athletes who make millions playing in the pro ranks—Michael Vick is his best known cause.
A cause, might I add, that has seemingly given him more grief than gratitude as Vick continues to take missteps and make Dungy look like an ill-advised yoda for ever having stuck up for him.
Yet, I digress...
Dungy is such a major good guy in the world of sports that fans, newscasters, players, and public figures dare you to say anything bad about him—on-air or in print. He's untouchable. That's why he can do something as asinine as chastise a grown a$$ man for using some terse language with his grown a$$ players.
Rex Ryan, the current head coach of the New York Jets, was featured on the HBO Original Series, "
Hard Knocks". He dropped the F-bomb, on this CABLE station might I point out, no fewer than ten times. Dungy's response to Ryan's choice of chatter was to call him out for his bad language and suggest that the NFL Commissioner get involved (by suggesting that Goodell have a talk with Ryan about using said language)...for real?!?
Dungy said:
"I would not. I personally don't want my players to be around that. I don't want to be around that," Dungy said. "It's hard for me to be around that, and if I were in charge, no, I wouldn't hire someone like that....Now, I've been around 'F' bombs, so it's not like it's new. But I just don't think that has to be part of your every minute, everyday vocabulary to get your point across."
Good for you, Tony. You are a clean-living man who didn't use bad language to coach your players when you had the good fortune of doing so—yay, for Tony!
Newsflash...Rex Ryan isn't you. He does/did use that language and his methods are clearly different than yours. Does that make him less of a coach than you? Less of a person? Less of a man?...Not in my opinion, but obviously you think enough of yourself to feel that your way is the best way where coaching is concerned.
Please, get a grip.
Rex Ryan is probably more the rule than the exception—where head coaches and their use of foul language is concerned—and while I can understand the value of espousing an opinion on the way a man chooses to get his point across to his players, I cannot get behind a guy who is, essentially, trying to throw that man under the bus for doing so.
Rex Ryan hasn't committed any crimes or hurt anybody by coaching in this manner and, obviously, he's getting the results he wants to see from being so brash. Respect the process, even if you don't relate to the method. Show a little humility, Tony...you of all people should know how to do that.
End rant.
