LESSONS FROM
THE SIDELINES
Football Great Tony Dungy Shares Life Lessons “What separates the truly great teams from the mediocre ones?” This was the question asked by Tony Dungy as he opened his keynote presentation at the 2022 Food Shippers Conference. He then proceeded to answer this question by explaining four simple yet highly effective principles he has coached (and lived) by: selflessness, ownership, unity, and larger purpose. And he should know. Dungy is the former American football safety and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts. His teams became perennial postseason contenders under his leadership, missing the playoffs only twice with Tampa Bay. He also led the Colts to victory in Super Bowl XLI—making him the first black head coach to win the Super Bowl in 2007. FSA Conference attendees were hanging on every word as Dungy defined these critical principles: • Selflessness: Putting individual needs aside for the good of the team. • Ownership: Fulfilling your role by learning it thoroughly and by consistently giving 100 percent. • Unity: Understanding and rallying around your team’s mission, philosophy, and culture through open communication and positive conflict resolution.
• Larger Purpose: Contributing to the wider community in a lasting and significant way.
member school, for demonstrating joint athletic and academic excellence throughout their college career.
Important Moments in Tony’s Life
Dungy shared how he became emergency quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers in a 1977 game against the Houston Oilers when both Terry Bradshaw and Mike Kruczek went down with injuries on October 9. “That was an important moment in my football career because, even though we lost the game, it put me in the spotlight,” said Dungy.
Much of Dungy’s keynote was telling his stories with intriguing life lessons he’s learned over the years – lessons that we all can apply to our own lives. Born and raised in Jackson, Michigan, Dungy graduated from Parkside High School in 1973 and then played college football at the University of Minnesota (he was the Gophers' most valuable player at quarterback in 1975 and 1976). In 1977, he was awarded the Big Ten Medal of Honor, recognizing one student athlete from the graduating class of each Big Ten
Dungy shared his story about beginning his head coaching tenure in 1996 with the Buccaneers, a franchise he said was regarded as one of the league's worst. Through implementation of the Tampa 2
“FAMILY IS IMPORTANT. FRIENDSHIPS AND COMRADERY ARE IMPORTANT. FAITH IS IMPORTANT. FINDING YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE IS IMPORTANT.” 26 | FOOD CHAIN DIGEST • EDITION 2 • 2022
