If I were running an NFL team trying to rebuild (the Rams and Lions come to mind), my first item of business would be hiring Tony Dungy. I wouldn’t try to make him my head coach or even my team president, the way the Seahawks tried to. Oh no. My role for him would be much simpler: motivate my team by picking against them. That sure seems to bring out the bests in opponents. Back when the Saints were 13-0 and the Cowboys were coming off back-to-back losses, Dungy said on NBC that the Cowboys had no chance against the Saints. Dallas of course went on to hand New Orleans its first loss of the season. That brings us to Super Bowl week where Dungy’s prognostication yielded headlines once again:
“I think they’re going to be so far ahead that people are going to say, ‘Oh, ho-hum, he played a good game, they won by two scores, the Colts won their second championship,’ ” Dungy said of Manning on Thursday. “He’s going to have those rings Sunday night. I don’t think it’s going to be close.
Not to say I was flawless with my predictions (at least I had the Saints plus the points), but man, could you be further off than that? Actually, if the Saints don’t recover the onside kick to start the 3rd quarter, it could have played out the way Dungy predicted. I know Tony’s job is to take stances as an analyst, but he might have to start watching his words now that he’s seen their impact. Either that, or he’ll continue to make picks figuring he has nothing to do with the actual play on the field. This should be interesting.
