INDIANAPOLIS — Tony Dungy is sticking with the Indianapolis Colts.
The NFL team said Monday that Dungy will remain its head coach through at least the 2008 season before turning over the reins to hand-picked successor Jim Caldwell.
Dungy, the first black coach to win a Super Bowl, spent a week meeting with his family, close friends and trusted colleagues while deciding whether to return for a seventh season with the Colts. It’s the third straight year Dungy seriously considered retiring.
“I wouldn’t shortchange my family,” Dungy said. “I wouldn’t come back if my wife or my children were not for it.”
The debate focused on Dungy’s desire to balance family and football, especially after his family moved back to Tampa earlier this month. His 16-year-old son, Eric, now attends high school there, and team owner Jim Irsay’s willingness to let Dungy spend more time in Florida was a factor in the decision.
Irsay has said Dungy could spend Friday nights there watching his son’s football games, but insisted the Colts job would be more than a part-time gig for Dungy.
Dungy is the first coach in Colts history to make the playoffs and win at least 10 games six consecutive years. He has won five straight AFC South titles, taking the Colts to two AFC championship games, and winning last year’s Super Bowl, the first with two black coaches, as Indy beat Chicago.
Dungy’s 80 wins in Indianapolis, including the playoffs, are a franchise record, and he ranks fifth in victories among those who coached in 2007 with 136 career wins, which includes playoff games. He enters next season tied for 19th in career wins with Hank Stram.
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