Goodbye, Tony. The Best To You & Your Family.

Today, at 5pm, the Indianapolis Colts will announce that Tony Dungy is retiring as Head Coach of the Indianapolis Colts.

It's a sad day in Indianapolis. It is a move that many have seen coming for some time now, but never wanted to realize. For Tony, I know it's been a tough decision, but one that will be for the best of he and his family.

Coach Dungy will be missed in Indianapolis, a city that endured many losing seasons before he came to town. He has been the subject of many conversations regarding inefficiency and choking, in that, the Colts only won 1 Super Bowl while he was in Indianapolis.

That statement astounds me.

Only one Super Bowl win in seven seasons is really quite an accomplishment. There are currently 16 teams in the NFL whom have zero (0) wins in the Super Bowl. There are 6 teams that have never even made it to the Super Bowl.

Coach Dungy took the time to reflect and pray to make sure that this was the right decision for he and his family. He made it perfectly clear that this was a final decision, once he decided to step away. This would not be a year or two hiatus, but a final exit to coaching.

Coach Dungy leaves behind a team that is still, very much, in tact, and built to make a run at a Super Bowl in the coming seasons. The annointing of Jim Caldwell will add some consistency without going out to find a successor. Jim Caldwell has worked with Peyton Manning and Tom Moore and should not represent much of a change in the offensive scheme of things.

I am sure that there will be some growing pains, but I don't look for drastic changes. Indianapolis still had Manning, Freeney, Sanders, Wayne, Jackson, Bethea, and Mathis. I look for Indy to find a way, next year, and to be competitive for years to come.

Coach Dungy, it's been a pleasure having you on the Colts sideline. Thank you for all you have done for the Colts and the City of Indianapolis.

GCB,

Dungy leaving the team made me wonder about another thing - how much does Peyton Manning have left in the tank? Manning turns 34 some time this year, and you have to wonder whether his age may slowly start to creep up on him.

I will say Peyton seems to take excellent care of his body and has had a great offensive line for most of his career. I could see him playing at this level for a good two more years.

Bill Polian should bring in a young quarterback to groom under Peyton Manning. Matt Cassel, Aaron Rogers, Philip Rivers, Brady Quinn and Kevin Kolb all sat for a considerable amount of time before making the transition into the starters' role. Some of the players mentioned are unproven while some were significantly better for learning on the bench.

Whenever Peyton decides to hang it up, he will leave some big shoes to fill. Get a young QB in there who can learn the offense so the transition will be as smooth as possible.

Just an outsider's perspective. :)

Nice blog.