Within the first minute of today's press conference, Andy Reid, the actual coach of the Eagles, turned the proceedings over to "Coach Dungy," who did most of the talking. It seems clear that he was the broker of this deal, not because Vick needed an agent, but because he needed a stamp of approval from a respected private citizen. He didn't have to make a pitch. The league's coaches came to Dungy for answers. Can he play? Can we trust him? Will you vouch for him? The Tony Dungy Rehabilitation Program has done a tremendous service to Michael Vick, one that few other athletes have ever been given.

But as much as he benefits Vick, Dungy helps the team even more. He provides the Eagles with cover, because Dungy is the one who signed off on this problem child. A pro football team just hired a player who hasn't touched a football in 2 years, without even giving him a workout. They have no idea what kind of player they're getting. When does that ever happen? And if it goes south? "Well, Coach Dungy gave us his word! How were we supposed to know he'd rob a bank?"

If this works—and really, it already has—this could be the path to respectability that more and more athletes choose, for both honest and cynical reasons. Will Dungy become like the Jesse Jackson or Bill Clinton of sports, rushing to the scenes of crimes to give voice to the voiceless? (The difference being that Dungy sincerely wants to help other people, not just Tony Dungy's Ego. Dungy has even wondered aloud if he could have stopped the dog fighting from even happening, if only he'd known sooner.)

Will other respected sports figures follow his lead and start lending their name and support to controversial athletes? How many other people could have even sat at that podium today, like the wife of a politician who has committed infidelity, and been able to lend Vick the necessary credibility to keep critics at bay. Few sports figures command that level of respect.

Because he's not an agent, a lawyer, or even a boss, Dungy is in a unique position to offer his unbiased stamp of legitimacy. He had nothing to gain from helping Vick, except the blessings of his Lord. (So selfish!) I'm guessing football's Dr. Phil should expect plenty of phones calls in the near future.

Tony Dungy, A Good Influence in Michael Vick's Life [Examiner]
Former Colts coach Dungy backs new chance for troubled Vick [Rochester Democrat and Chronicle]
Former Indianapolis Head Coach Tony Dungy mentors former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, but Dungy too loyal? [Washington Post]

Yesterday, ESPN's LZ Granderson, a gay black man, stepped up and apologized for ignoring Dungy all of those years over the former Indianapolis coach's strident Christian beliefs . Granderson said that he realizes now that the coach's motivations were a little less divisive than he first suspected:

This is why I am apologizing for not coming to your defense. While gay marriage is an issue about equal treatment under the law, what the black community is dealing with is a crisis that threatens its very existence. As an NFL coach, you have not only talked about the crisis, you have followed your heart to do something about it — working with some of those misguided men through prison ministry as well as through mentoring programs in Indianapolis. In retirement, you plan to do even more work and will likely have a greater impact on black men's lives working full-time to help save our community than you did in your 31 years in the NFL. I'm not suggesting your work cannot and does not stretch beyond the black community, but I believe the research illustrates a greater need there.

Fair enough. But Granderson's not getting off that easy — especially from Cyd Zeigler Jr., president of Outports, who says that Dungy doesn't deserve any sort of apology, especially from a gay man:

Dungy isn’t just against gay marriage, he’s against homosexuality. He’s against one of the main aspects of my identity – of who I am – that defines every gay man, whether we want to admit it or not. And he is vocal about it. Many sports casters, coaches and players have lost their jobs because they are racist or sexist; The same standard should hold for homophobes. Instead, Granderson gives Dungy a pass because he’ll be reaching out to black men to help them set their lives straight. He’ll be using his ministry to do that: Dungy will be preaching the “good word” to help lead more black men to salvation. But it’s that same ministry that is the foundation for Dungy’s anti-gay beliefs and anti-gay political positions. To me, Granderson is saying: “I’m OK with you spreading your anti-gay interpretation of Christianity, because black men need your help more than gay men.”

Well, can they both be right? And then there's old-timey Minneapolis Star sports columnist Sid Hartman, who just thinks Tony Dungy is the downright saintly. But Sid's readership seems to thinks the old fella is just nice to everybody:

I agree that Dungy was a GREAT man...But, in the past year [Sid] has written similar articles about Carl Pohlad, Bobby Knight, Brad Childress, Joe Mauer, etc. So when you write about a man truly as great as Dungy it loses credibilty because Sid has written similar things about people who are not as special as Coach Dungy.

Yeah. Get your act together, Sid.

Dungy does not deserve a pass for his anti-gay actions [Outsports]
Dungy's Greatest Work Still Ahead Of Him [ESPN]

Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy spoke with kids at a high school in Tampa on Thursday and apparently he was in a mood to foment him some controversy. And not in the usual "condemning o' the gays" way. Nope. He took a shot at the rival New England Patriots being embroiled in MattWalshGate. Nothing wrong with that. What was interesting was Dungy's willingness to gloss over accusations against his team.

Then someone asked if anything happened last season that he wished he could include in the book. What followed was vintage Dungy. He seized the opening. He brought up the videotaping scandal with the New England Patriots.

"We talk about how important it is to do things the right way and have integrity so that when you do win, people can never ask that question," he said. "That's the great thing that I'm happy about with our team.

"Yes, we won. But no one is really going to ask, 'Did they cheat? Did they do things the right way?' I think our record speaks for itself and if you're a true champion, that's the way you'd like it to be."

O RLY? I seem to be remember there being some questions about pumped-in crowd noise in the RCA Dome cropping up numerous times in the past few years, most notably after the regular season game against the Patriots last season.

He'd probably blame that on the gays though. Must they be so demonstrative? Tony Dungy's version of hell must be very loud.

From an interview with Ft. Wayne Observed:

"What's on the horizon? I would love to work with the NFL; that has always been my dream. I worked in Indianapolis and the year after I left, the Colts won the Super Bowl. So I rooted against them last season against New England just for spite. But then I see Tony Dungy's face, and it's really all about him. And I see him and I can't root against them."

And from Wikipedia:

After spending years as a blonde, Manske dyed her hair back to its natural brunette color in time for the September 16, 2007 edition of the The Speed Report. She is also a big fan of the National Football League's Green Bay Packers.

Now that's a resume! Suck it, Condoleeza Rice!

NicoleManske.com
NASCAR's Finest: Former Miss Teen USA Semifinalist And Budding TV Star Nicole Manske [The Big Lead]
The Nicole Manske Interview [Ft. Wayne Observed]

Let's ignore what the Chargers are up against next week for a moment — or a couple of hours, anyway — and reflect on what they pulled off yesterday. Their winning drive was engineered by Billy Freaking Volek. They overcome a cascade of ridiculous calls, a deafening home crowd and the depression that being in Indianapolis, even for a few hours, inevitably provides. And yet here they are.

The big discussion after the game was whether or not Tony Dungy will return to the Colts next year. (He might go be a minister to prisons, which is exactly the wrong place to start bashing gays, by the way.) We're not quite sure the Colts should want him back. As Peter King points out, this is now the second heavily favored Colts team to lose at home in the playoffs in three years. Bring in Cowher; he'll knock 'em into shape.

"I appreciate the stance they're taking, and I embrace that stance," Dungy said. Local and national gay-rights organizations had criticized Dungy for accepting the invitation to appear at the banquet. The institute, affiliated with Focus on the Family, has been one of the leading supporters of the marriage amendment. "IFI is saying what the Lord says," Dungy said. "You can take that and make your decision on which way you want to be. I'm on the Lord's side."

We think we know what inspired this stance: This guy.

Dungy: I "Embrace" Same-Sex Marriage Ban [Indianapolis Star]
Tony Dungy's Rabid Fan Base [Deadspin]

Lord knows, it was all anyone could talk about during the telecast — Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, who were oddly competent last night, actually, acted as if the rain were some Biblical plague foisted on Dolphins Stadium by demons — and even if you had the mute on, someone forgot to put a cover on the main game camera, which was sprinkled with precipitation all evening. Not only did the rain make the ball and field slippery, it also apparently reacted poorly with chemicals in Rex Grossman's brain. (Which is funny, because we've always found that water dilutes vodka. Hmm.) It kind of takes some of the fun out of the Gatorade dump when the coach is already drenched.

At least it didn't electrocute Prince. With all that rocking, we're impressed he made it through unscathed.

But jeez, we had no idea that Super Bowl week was going to turn poor Tony Dungy into Bat Boy. Honorable, noble, intelligent, a leader ... and deadly!

Yahoo News Photos [Yahoo]

(Note: We don't know the circumstances behind this photo, but we're wagering that he's pretending to laugh at a Berman joke. Educated guess.)

He is also a God-fearing man, which is also worthy of respect. Though it's possible that he just doesn't know what the Indiana Family Institute stands for. They're the organization hosting a fundraiser with Dungy in March, and, as has been pointed out, is one of the more vehemently anti-gay groups in the country. (The group's motto is Persuading Minds And Changing Hearts, which sounds like a surgical procedure, actually.)

Clearly, Dungy has more important matters on his brain right now than a fundraiser in two months — or the IFI's poor punctuation of the collective possessive — but, well, we wonder how much former commissioner Paul Tagliabue and his gay son would have cared for this.

Of course, the men still love Tony, no matter what he stands for.

Tony Dungy Honored By Anti-Gay Group [Towleroad]
Tony, Say It Isn't So! [Bilerico]
Indiana Family Institute [Official Site]
That's A, Uh, Nice Sweater Vest, Coach [Deadspin]

It's one of those animated GIFs, and it's too large to put on the front page, but it's right here. It features a Colts staffer, watching Dungy strut down the sidelines, stoic, manly, deep in thought. And if you think Dungy is deep in thought, look at his sideline guy. That guy's thinking things that are illegal in half the country, and parts of Pennsylvania.

That, friends, is having the respect of your staff; when they mentally undress you every time you walk past them.

Tony Dungy's Not-So-Secret Admirer [Deadspin]

On the concept of returning from grief, "America's Rabbi" Shmuley Boteach wrote a fascinating, if somewhat ill-timed, piece on his site Tuesday relating Brett Favre's difficulties the last few years to his rushing back after the death of his father three years ago, holding Dungy up as an example of the correct way to deal with grief. (If such a thing exists.) Dungy was not available for comment but is expected to speak to the press this afternoon or tomorrow.

Dungy Returns To Colts [Indianapolis Star]
What Brett Favre Can Learn From Tony Dungy About Grief [Shmuley.com]

Of course, seeing Dungy's pain in the flesh brought up, to many people, our own conflicted decision yesterday to link to James Dungy's MySpace profile. This was obviously a heavily debated decision, not just on our message boards, but also in private emails. We still aren't sure of the right decision on this, so, after the jump, we present the two most compelling emails (with permission granted but anonymity requested), pro and con, for pointing out the profile. And then we'll drop it.

For Running The Profile

I support your posting of James profile, and if this has any relevance, I consider myself a close friend of his father. Teen death is a tragedy, whether it be by freak accident or the perceived rational act of an irrational mind, the main difference is in the mindset of the survivors. Accidental death can carry some guilt, as in "why didn t I stop him from driving drunk" or "I should have made him wear a seat belt," but in general one can take comfort in knowing death was an accident, could happen to anyone. Suicide offers no such comfort, so closure is difficult — if even possible. James profile is only one of the scraps of knowledge people like myself will seek out in hopes of finding something tangible to point at and say, there, that is why he did it. For lack of finding that scapegoat, if you will, fingers are going to point at my good friend, who is beyond reproach as a father and a human being, and I simply cannot accept that.

I want to make sure to add that I come down on the side of this profile not meaning a lot. I have looked at my own son s profile and have blanched at the profanity, the twisted images and the dialogue, but also know that anonymity fuels alter-egos. I know that James was not this person, even while admitting that there may have been some release of a repressed persona involved. I wish he didn t kill himself, I wish he hadn t left this troubling snapshot of himself, but he did, and all of it fits into the puzzle that Tony will no doubt be trying to solve from now on.

Against Running The Profile

I don't know a lot about you, or your organization and I thought it was important for me to share a few of my thoughts.

I am glad that you expressed the fact that your organization questioned yourselves as to whether or not a posting should have been done. You have showed me, and many others, that you have a conscience and that you are attempting to listen to it. That is great.

It doesn't change the fact however that I am extremely dissappointed that you went ahead and published this information. In fact, I read another article that mentioned this profile but was under the impression that it it was taken off the internet last Thursday.

I am sure you must know this, just because someone's information is/was "out there," and yes, it might even be of interest to many, it does not mean that it is worth reiterating, mentioning or discussing. If you perished, or let's say that you had a child that did something very similiar to this young man, is this the way you would want him or her to be remembered?

It is not always about appealing to what you think might be of interest to the masses. I also don't believe that you "owe" it to your readers to direct them to his website. The decision that has been made, not only affects this young man's memory and legacy, but think about his family and how they must feel right now. Think about how they might feel when they find out about this, and again, put yourself in his and their shoes, how would you feel?

I am glad that you have tried to show us some level of sensitivity as to what we might think, but please, please please do the honorable thing and take this information off the internet. This family has suffered enough. I have read many articles and I don't get the impression that they are denying this profile, and what their son's intent might have been. Allow them to grieve in peace.

Therefore, as mentioned here last week, someone has screen-captured the MySpace profile of James Dungy, the late son of Colts coach Tony Dungy. We've learned not to assume you know a person from how they present themselves online, so we'll reserve comment, except to note that James Dungy was on MySpace the day before his suicide, for whatever that's worth.

If you disagree with us posting this, we understand where you're coming from. We're conflicted ourselves. We just believe that it's the first piece of news to come out of this story that wasn't just another platitude about how tragic the whole matter has been — it is of course awful and tragic — and the first thing that has given any insight, however slight, of what might have been inside James Dungy's head. He's the guy who made this site, after all. But if you think we're jerks for posting this, well, we understand that too.

James Dungy's MySpace Profile [Fry Cook On Venus]

He is one of Dungy's five children. Police ruled out foul play but have not, as of yet, ruled out suicide. Dungy immediately went back to Florida to be with his family. His son lived in the Tampa area, where Dungy once coached the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A live press conference can be found here at 11 a.m. Eastern time.

Dungy's Son Found Dead [The Indy Channel]

(Update: This might or not be James Dungy's My Space profile. It's either creepy, fascinating or both. No matter what, it's terribly sad.)