Tony Dungy, Super Bowl Winning Head Coach

Back inside Radio Row getting you set for Super Bowl 57, and now joining us is a man that usually joins us in studio New York City once each and every year, and that is the Pro Football Hall of Famer, the coach in Tony Dungy. Coach, how you been? You know what, I'm doing well, enjoying the moment here and having some fun.

No Pro Football Hall of Fame jacket on you, though. Yeah, I didn't have it this time, but just really making the rounds, seeing some people. We're here at Radio Row, and man, there's all kinds of just awesome people here. You had to be fired up last night with the Hall of Fame class to see Rondae Barber get in, right? It was really great. Rondae played so well, 15 years, just a well-deserved honor, and I'm really happy for him and proud of him. Now, I got to get your reaction. When Jeff Saturday was announced as the interim head coach this year, how did you process your former player getting that job? I wasn't all that surprised because I know the respect that Jim Mercy had for him. It was a difficult situation You're trying to change in midstream.

You just have a little bit of time. Who can you get that really understands things and maybe has a chance to spark things a little bit? So, I understood the thinking behind it. Wish they could have had a little bit more success, but Jeff's a good man. Would you be surprised if he gets the job on a full-time basis? I wouldn't be overly surprised. I know Jim Mercy thinks outside the box.

He likes relationships. There was a lot of positive vibes coming from the team. But they've looked at a lot of people, and the fact that they haven't made a decision yet kind of leads me to believe that it might be one of these coaches involved in this game that has an inside shot, too. Yeah, it could be Shane Steichen. I think that's the popular thought right now.

Yeah, it could be Eric Banamy. Who knows? I don't know what Jim Mercy's thinking, but I do appreciate the fact that he's taking his time on it. Other than getting a quarterback, what advice would you give to the new head football coach or the Colts, whoever it may be? Well, I think you've got to just implement your philosophy, and you've got to win people over and say, this is how we're going to do things. Know that it takes time, and we have to be patient. Not try to change everything and do everything to win a championship this year. Let's build that foundation, and let's be contenders for the next ten years. I remember when you were in the Super Bowl, you were coaching up against Lovey Smith. This is the first time that two black quarterbacks are going to be going up against one another with Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes.

What does that mean to you? It means a lot to know and being a quarterback myself and not getting the opportunity to play in the NFL, to see the difference from the 70s where now we're embracing it. These guys are playing at the highest level, and people talk about their leadership. Yeah, they talk about the skill set, but I think both of these guys are unquestionably the leaders on their team.

That's been fun for me to watch. When I look at this game, I evaluate the roster. I think the better team is Philadelphia.

I'm picking the Eagles to win the game, but I always go, they got 15 and they got 87 on the other side, and that always makes you pause for a bit. No, that quarterback can elevate everybody else. You look at the games where maybe New England didn't have the best roster, but Tom Brady kind of elevated them to that championship. We've seen that over and over with great performances from quarterbacks.

We have to see what happens and how it turns out. I do think that the quarterback who has the best day, their team is going to win it. Both of these guys have been banged up a little bit. Can they stay healthy the whole time through and play the way they can play?

If they do, it's going to be a great game. A big topic of conversation for this upcoming offseason is Aaron Rodgers. What does your gut tell you where he's playing next year? I think he's going to play. I don't think he's going to play in Green Bay.

Where that is, I'm not really sure. I know he's a West Coast guy, has roots on the West Coast. There's a couple of teams there that probably are looking for quarterbacks right now. The Raiders may be a possibility.

I would say I'm going somewhere west. Were you surprised that Brady finally decided to walk away? I was a little surprised this year. I thought he would play one more year. He didn't have a great year.

I thought he would want to go out on a high note. I was a little surprised. I thought he would be playing this year. It's going to be fascinating to me to see who's going to be playing quarterback this year for all four NFC South teams. Maybe it could be Carr, maybe it could be Jimmy G, but there's not a lot of good quarterbacks in that division right now. You've got four teams that really need quarterbacks. Where is it going to be?

Who's going to show up there? The Bucks obviously have a lot of weaponry in place. They've got a very, very good defense. New Orleans, Jamis Winston is still there. Andy Dalton is there, but no real standout leader stamped on that position. Then you've got Carolina.

Everything's new. New coach Frank Wright coming in. It's going to be very, very interesting in the NFC South Atlanta. That's probably the million dollar question for that division. Going back to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Dwight Freeney and Reggie Wayne, I know only a certain amount of guys could get in each and every year, but it's always odd to me the guys that have to wait a little bit or don't get in on the first try. It's disappointing for me when you know guys are great and they deserve that honor and it doesn't quite come. Reggie's situation, there's three receivers right now.

There just seems to be logged in. You've got Torrey Holt. I just saw Torrey over here. How is he in the Hall of Fame? You've got Torrey Holt, Andre Johnson, Reggie Wayne and the voters are saying, I don't know which one so maybe I'll vote for another position. The same thing happened with Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney. Demarcus Ware didn't get in last year.

Great stats. Everybody says he should get in and he was the guy to go in this year. Maybe for Dwight it will open up next year. You talk about receivers too.

We're on a bunch of stations around the country. One of them is Houston, Andre Johnson. How is that guy not a Hall of Famer yet? He did so much. Probably the number one guy in that franchise history and played in an era where they didn't have a lot of offensive weaponry around him and put up big numbers year after year after year. I'm sure people in Houston are saying, gosh, how could he not be in? It's hard.

Only five slots every year. Tony Dungy, we all have said everything about Mahomes that we could say at this point, but for Jalen Hurts, he's got to be a coach's dream just the way that he conducts himself. I think that leadership and really spurring his guys on and just driving them to be the best they can be.

Everybody loves playing with them. His teammates, the way they talk about him. You see that role model.

That's what you want and he's been phenomenal. Tell me what you're doing here today. I am just hanging out and we're talking about the Super Bowl breakfast actually.

I'll be there tomorrow. It honors the man of the year voted on by the players. Not the player of the year, but the man who does the most for his community.

And Kirk Cousins is the award winner this year. We'll have a gospel presentation as well, so it's going to be an awesome morning. Coach, always great to catch up with you. Good to see you.

Thank you very much, Zach. Subscribe now on the Odyssey app or ever you get your podcast. The biggest game of the year. The Super Bowl is on Odyssey and Westwood one brings it to you streaming live for free Sunday, February 12 on the Odyssey app.

The Eagles have been the NFC's best team. It's the Eagles versus the Chiefs. Get in the game and download the free Odyssey app today. The biggest game of the year. The Super Bowl is on Odyssey and Westwood one brings it to you streaming live for free Sunday, February 12 on the Odyssey app. Get in the game and download the free Odyssey app today.